Forty Days of Wilderness

Forty days of wilderness
You ask of me, Lord;
What is it I am to seek?
What is it I am to find?

Forty days of wilderness
You give to me, Lord;
What will be your gift to me?
What will be your treasure?

I desire to seek you Lord;
I desire to find you.
You give the gift of your presence, Lord,
That will be my treasure.

Lenten Pilgrimage

I follow Christ in desert places
And there I find fresh springs.
I am led by the Holy Spirit
To search out my journey’s path;

I am a pilgrim in wilderness ways.

In desert’s scorching days
I seek the Sacred One;
In desert’s coldest nights
I search out the Divine;
In desert’s oases I seek the Holy One
And I am given rest and refreshment.

I am a pilgrim in wilderness ways;
I am a pilgrim on desert paths.

Christ's Wilderness

In the wilderness
Alone with the Father,
Christ searched his thoughts,
His heart, his soul.
For forty scorching days,
For forty freezing nights,
Christ searched for truth and honesty.
The devil taunted, tempted him,
Christ withstood it all.
Tired, hungry but stronger
Christ turned from the wilderness pause.
He faced his destiny,
Ready to do God’s will.
Angels supported him;
Disciples learned from him;
People flocked to him and were healed.

March Winds

March winds blow strong
Through the forest
Cleaning out cobwebs
And debris from last
Year’s activities of nature.


Loose branches,
Dead leaves,
Birds’ nests
From summer building,
Fall to the ground and
Blow into the hedgerows.

Holy Spirit Wind blows strong
Driving out evil
From our midst, preparing
Desert paths for Christ to come.

Forgotten sins
Are remembered,
Forgiveness asked
And received.
Lenten pilgrimage is walked
Through the desert gritty sands.

March winds cleanse the earth,
Holy Spirit’s breath
Cleanses our souls,
Preparing us for Christ’s
Resurrection
And oasis of new life
Planted in our souls.
Thank the Lord for oasis of new life,
Planted in our souls.

© Judith Lawrence

A Tale of Two Times

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together.
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 5

In my youth
I threw away the stones
That impeded my progress.

The stones of family,
Which held me down:
The stone of a mother’s love,
Which I thought was hate
Because it hurt.
The stone of a father’s love,
Because I didn’t understand
His need of me.

The stone of religion,
Because I’d outgrown it.

The stone of country
Because I moved away
To a land more large and free.

*

In my maturity
I gather the stones together again
To build a home.

The stones of family
And ancestors:
The stone of a mother’s love,
Cleansed of late
With tears of understanding.
The stone of a father’s love,
Redeemed by the love and care
Of a surrogate father.

The stone of religion,
Split into gems innumerable
With many facets, polished into brilliance,
Reflecting God’s spirit in my life.

The stone of my country,
My Celtic heritage,
Given pride of place in my new home
Of Canada.

*

The stones
I threw away in my youth,
I now gather
In my maturity,
To prepare a dolmen,
A holy dwelling,
For my soul’s eternity.