Walking on Air I once walked away from belief but only found air at my feet. All meaning and substance had ceased - pulled wherever passion blew me like the wind on a falling leaf. I thought I was seeking freedom; what I found was only more chains. To live with purpose and reason we must seek more than selfish gains. -Justin Farley
Purpose Waiting in the darkness is the catalyst for change. A seed hides just beneath the soil and toils to germinate. It breaks out of its hard, lifeless shell and reaches desperately for the sun. It takes root and won't stop until it's done flowering and offering exactly what it was born to give - beauty to the world. Justin Farley
Holy Justice
I heard his sobs
as they walked him down the row,
heard the shackles jingle,
the whispers of people waiting for the show.
I watched in horror
as they strapped him to the chair…
the pleading and screaming
still repeats in my head like a nightmare.
I retched at the smell
of burning flesh,
saw the lights stop flickering
and questioned the meaning of justice.
Guilty and deserving
of death? Yes.
But each and every one of us
everyday transgress.
If I live with Love,
how do I advocate death?
How do I share God’s light
while stealing another’s breath?
They’ve forfeited the right
to live life free,
but they’re still God’s children,
deserving of love and mercy.
God’s love extends
to the darkest of places.
And redemption is always possible
even in the most hopeless cases.
Poem Written by Justin Farley
You can find some of my other Christian poems by clicking here
We’re Only Human
The older we get
the less certain we are of absolutes.
But one thing we’re absolutely certain of
is our flawed, human nature.
When we’re children we yearn
for the day we’ll have all the answers,
when we’ll no longer feel scared or vulnerable,
and when we’ll stop making stupid mistakes.
Until we grow old and realize
that’s what it means to be human.
Poem Written by Justin Farley
You can find some of my other poetry by clicking here
Intimacy With God
Speaking in the silence,
waiting in the midst of contemplation,
listening on the other line of prayer
awaits the answer
to the relentless yearning of the human heart.
Do not come seeking secret knowledge.
Do not expect divine visions,
to become enlightened,
or to transcend physical reality.
But come to the silence
simply desiring and longing for
intimacy with the Divine,
experiencing God’s love and mercy directly,
which we, in turn, share with the world.
Poem Written by Justin Farley
You can find some of my other Christian poems by clicking here
Starting Today
If resisting was an easy task,
who would be a slave?
Who would part with a piece of themselves
for the chance at an early grave?
Willpower alone is enough to put you in hell
but not enough to pull you out.
You’ll never have a chance at getting well
until you accept living by a different route.
If change is what you want,
you’ll have to change much about you.
You’ll have to learn to become humble
and do what trusted advisers tell you to do.
The road is long and hard
but worth every step of the way
because you have the opportunity
to be free again starting today.
-Poem Written by Justin Farley
You Will Find
You will find peace
when nothing but this moment matters…
when you forgive yourself and others for the past
and stop obsessing over the worries of tomorrow.
You will find contentment
when you seek communion with the divine…
when the eternal fire of truth burns brighter
than wealth, social status, or material possessions.
You will find love
when you become loving…
when you live outside yourself
and believe there’s worse things than a broken heart.
You will find joy
when you purposefully seek it…
when you silence your complaints
and paint your gratitude upon each morning.
And you will find faith
when you dare to dream again…
when you see the world with your heart
and witness the pulsating beauty of possibility all around you.
-Poem Written by Justin Farley
A spiral, wooden staircase
reaches up like crooked branches –
oak fingers, determined to touch the sky.
Stairs with ornate, hand-carved railings
make way for impossible feats and give
wingless creatures a chance to fly.
And I stand humble before them,
wondering where they lead
and how high they climb.
A thousand steps is too many,
but one at a time seems possible
if I keep my head level and eyes blind.
Every journey begins distant –
hard, unfathomable, unimaginable,
while peering across the sands of time.
But complacency is a curse
that stands ready with force
to defend comfort in the battle of the mind.
Life is one continuous climb.
Each day one step closer to
the potential written in your heart.
No need for giant leaps
or desperate measures destined for defeat,
but you must find somewhere to start.
Progress comes to those who push onward,
planting seeds even when tired
and a day off is a tempting reward.
For excuses quickly become reasons
to idly watch months go by
without a step forward.
It’s the small choices you make
compounded over a lifetime
that leave you in the plains or push you to the peak.
At the end of life’s journey,
the number of seeds you’ve sown
determines the character you reap.
-Poem Written by Justin Farley
I think we all have a place where we are and a place in our mind where we want to be. The gap between those two places can be overwhelming and cause many struggles along our life journey. Personally, I have the struggle with feast or famine – I’m either all in and try to drastically alter everything in my life overnight or feel defeated by how many changes I know I need to make and do nothing.
Life is similar to a spiral staircase that leads up to who we want to be and our idea of success. You don’t reach the top by quick sprints or you’re bound to get burnt out and tired. I have the temptation to try to change my big life struggles right away, but those can only be overcome with work and time. The way to the top comes by doing the small things right everyday and making good choices in the small decisions. Small baby steps everyday accumulate into major growth in our life journey over weeks, months, and years. Small steps prevent us from becoming too overwhelmed and inspire us to keep going during life’s struggles. One day at a time, one step at a time, we will reach our life goals and everyday move closer to who we want to be and further away from who we are.
Where are you right now in life?
Where do you want to be or what is the difference between your “ideal” self and who you are now?
What small steps can you do everyday to put you closer to achieving your goals in life?
The journey in life is never easy, but keeping your progress small, manageable, and attainable snowballs into drastic change over time.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy my similar poem,“Today”, which is about inspiring change in your life and taking the first step in your life journey.
Opus Dei – A Poem About the Work of God In Your Life
Your hot breath has blown on me
and provided the oxygen for glowing embers of love
where there was once nothing but cold, hard coals.
You’ve cultivated my soul
and provided the rich, black soil for roots of patience
where there was once rash temperament without restraint.
Your loving hands have lifted my head hung low in shame,
while your fierce winds have blown like a cyclone across a barren desert,
beginning to level this wall of pride.
You’ve provided for me a solid fortress
deep in the heart of your city
with ramparts tall and wide, impenetrable by the sufferings of this world.
You’ve blessed me with the gift of wisdom, to pause for breath.
I once dove headfirst into life’s battles like a torpedo of chaos without thought,
only to be whipped into retreat, scrambling for cover alone in the dark.
Your tongue has embraced my closed eyelids;
your passionate kiss has restored my sight.
You’ve given me a new pair of eyes able to see farther than myself.
Your loving discipline has provided the humility capable of producing laughter
when I take myself too seriously,
caught up in grandiose schemes and dreams of personal glory.
You’ve implanted in me fragments of courage.
Each day I’m getting more comfortable stripping off clothes of delusion
and encouraging the world to look at my naked frame; imperfect, bound in anxious chains.
You’ve taught me how to sow, where I once only reaped.
The seeds of contemplation have grown into hope,
setting my heart on distant destinations, where not long ago I accepted defeat.
The Spirit moves in incalculable paces like a dancer swayed by rhythmic beats.
You’ve given me a new appreciation for the wind, smirking at how it blows wherever it wishes; I was once engulfed by anxiety embracing unpredictable forces.
Faith has given me footsteps where my feet were once immobile, heavy as iron.
Fear remains, but it doesn’t incapacitate me.
I can walk on water as long as my vision is focused on you.
I’m no longer terrified of your wrath; you’ve given me the green light
to doubt, to challenge, to investigate, to verify, but you’ve also allowed
my heart to accept that sometimes our walk requires steps of blind faith.
It’s becoming easier to call you Captain and turn over the keys to my fate,
finally able to humbly accept that I am incapable of steering this ship,
understanding your hands are the only ones qualified to take the helm.
You’re consistent affirmations are beginning to ease my mind over finite time.
I once restlessly rattled the cage, unceasingly beat and banged
upon the heavy door of immorality, feeling owed admittance.
But you make peace of mind a possible reality; detached from the bondage of self, starved from the selfish desires of the flesh. You give me food filled with substance where I once only chewed and swallowed emptiness.
I am far from at peace.
I am not absent of fear.
I am still riddled by questions without answers.
I am not unmoved by my sufferings.
I come unhinged by my own madness.
I am inhibited by narcissistic obsessions.
I am wavered by trials.
I can be found in moments of doubt.
I still unsheathe my tongue as a weapon.
I am sometimes caught without showing patience.
I am occasionally guarded and scoff at love.
I still sometimes rage against offering others my hand or my time.
I am not always victorious over my passions.
I fall prey to temptations.
Yes, I admit that I am far from perfect.
But your perfection is slowly, but surely
working to change me into a better man.
-Poem Written by Justin Farley
Opus Dei – Latin for the work of God
photo credit: 2750 Hot colors for a cold days via photopin (license)
Grace – A Poem
I am awed by the way you move me
like freshly fallen snowflakes dusting across the frozen ground.
Some days I forget the barren tundra from which I came
and how you whispered by name, echoing across that vacant landscape
so that a lost soul could be found.
Some days time passes by me without a single thought
that each waking moment is a treasure –
a gift granted, light years away from being deserved.
But despite all my wrongs and all the foolish footpaths
I chose to walk, in my time of desperation I called
and without hesitation you answered.
Each single second is abounding opportunity,
a renewed possibility for new life.
My destination was one I was unable to arrive at
by the work of my own hands, but while I lingered,
withering away in the darkness, you nestled me
within your loving embrace and brought me back into the light.
The fact that I breathe and my heart beats
is a living testament to your endless love and grace.
May I never forget from where I came and that each day is a gift
that I should unceasingly praise and never waste.
-Poem Written by Justin Farley
photo credit: Morning mist via photopin (license)
