BELONGING

There is a day coming

With blessings bold and bright,

We will belong no questions ask,

Disconnect gone from sight.

Here it always seems imperfect,

A table with a wobbly leg.

The screw is always missing,

Forever a sense of disconnect.

We long for those around us

To simply understand.

But our words miss their heart,

Profound the sense of disconnect.

We try and try again,

Can you see or hear my heart?

We don’t want to stand alone,

Yet the chasm is so wide.

The words of doubt settle in,

They fall on fears and pain.

The yearning is so strong,

We simply want to belong.

It eludes us like a butterfly,

Or a sunset gone too soon.

Thank God for a Home ahead,

Where belonging never ends.

All is forgiven, hearts are pure,

No motives or critics abide.

Jesus is King, reigning over all,

The fragrance of belonging is there.

There is no end to this truth,

Accepted, Beloved, Home.

The table doesn’t wobble anymore,

Hallelujah, free to belong!

March, 2026

 God’s Stairway of Pictures

There are sets of wedding pictures,

Two to be exact,

Family pictures intact, but wait,

They are not, a face is missing.

This face isn’t yet in glory,

That’s not the reason why,

There are those who went before,

But no, this one was actually there.

People gathered, photos snapped,

Family memories made,

It’s not complete, a dotted blank,

There is a missing face.

One could recite the reasons,

Be they what may,

But the one left out,

Is the one who changed.

Changed what, you ask?

Generations for years to come,

One thousand is the Promise,

Fled to the cross, the blood, the Promise.

Oh but wait, what is that?

I see photos on a wall,

This, the Stairway of Heaven

The Father’s generations displayed.

There are faded photos,

Hanging in a row before I see,

He has a picture of Me!

And the photos keep going beyond.

The generations will follow,

Every promise is true,

May the ones in my missing photo,

All be on the Father’s wall in eternity..

Written after the Chapel in Marlboro sermon on Generations (Ruth 3) (8/1/26)

Sang “Gratitude” at the end and the Lord impressed this image on my mind.

Heaven holds the legacy in the Father’s care.

August 3, 2026

The Face I'll Never See

Today I had a revelation,

It was one I should have known.

Eternal truths sometimes tucked away

Unwrapped on an unexpected day.

One day a knock at the door,

It is a knock I do not answer,

It is a face I will not see,

That is death at my door for me.

But Jesus made a Promise,

And, every one is true.

Truly, truly He said it firm,

Keep My word and never see death.

The knock will not be answered,

The face I will not see,

Death has been defeated,

Jesus won this victory!

Only one door opens,

The Lord Jesus I will see,

His face, His scars for me,

Death is a face I’ll never see.

May 22, 2026

After the death of my friend Margaret Sumitra

John 8:51

 The Gift of Motherhood

My mother was His choice for me,

She brought forth life so I could be.

Funny, pretty, witty and bold,

She left so young to never grow old.

One day I too a mother became,

A dark haired girl was ours to name.

I missed my mom at that event,

Yet, Kara Ann was heaven sent.

Sickness visited and death came again,

Kara was young, her dad was gone.

Heaven called and his job was done,

No mother or husband, a daughter and me.

Another story God began to write,

It began with a marriage and son of the heart.

God breathed his life on a day I knew well,

My mother was buried, God brought forth life. 

That story had more left to unfold,

Nine years from Kara, life came bold.

This time it was a baby boy,

Travail in birth and God’s healing hand.

Now my heart and home were full,

A husband, my three and me.

Pets wandered in and days flew by,

Hustle, bustle, hard days and joy.

In time Grandchildren added to the flock,

Years passed and sickness came again. 

A husband and patriarch’s work is done,

Gone and many memories linger on

Blessed  to be a mom and a grand,

Roles may change but love remains.

Now it’s me and a furry dog named Kate,

Still miss my mom and two loves gone by.

Mary Kathleen Wood, 2-6-31 to 8-10-69. (Funeral 8-13-69)

James Ben Antoni,10-12-48 to 10-1-81

Kara Ann Antoni Cornell Dennison, 9-15-75

Craig William Cornell, 8-13-69, son of the heart

David Jonathan Cornell, 8-30-84

David William Cornell, 11-25-43 to 5-17-22

Pamela Ann Cornell, 12-23-49 -

 The Paradox of Fear

We fear so many unknowns,

They multiply within our hearts.

Fear chokes out our spirit,

Crowding out the joy of life.

Fears chase us as a child,

Things that go bump in the night.

Shadows bounce on our walls,

There were covers under to hide.

But then the years pass,

Fears still chase and walk beside.

Mountains from molehills they say

When, oh when will it be day?

The real pain comes disguised,

It finds its way through a crack.

We never considered this could be,

The unimagined fear is what got me.

A mystery, a paradox indeed,

The happenings beyond our thoughts.

What I never thought or feared,

Is what unraveled my heart.

3-11-26