A man walked along a path in a dense, dark wood
Looking to the left he saw nothing and same to the right
However, the path upon which he tread, was illumined by light
Along the way, an object drew him aside and into the wood
Reaching the spot, he found nothing, yet now he was lost
The path had vanished into the trees that surrounded him
Unable to see the path, he headed west on a whim
All he found, was something that came at even greater cost
He tried again to find what he’d lost, but again all was dark
As silence and darkness crept into his heart, so did despair
All over he searched, but nothing filled the emptiness there
For his heart needed far more to fill it than any simple lark
All the while, he knew on his own he would never find the
path
And yet, he resisted crying out, though he knew not why
For the pain and isolation were woven within a great lie
A lie trapping him between a lost great love and a fear of
wrath
Suddenly he saw a light ahead, akin to the light he’d left
He started toward it, when a snare his ankle caught
Collapsing forward to the ground, “Alas, alas!” he thought
He arose quick as he could, yet once more feeling bereft
The light itself was no illusion like the others he had
pursued
This was indeed the light from the path he trod of old
Yet he had strayed too close to the snare’s hold
Slowly his hope started to fade, his thoughts skewed
At times the hope was rekindled, but only to a flicker
Soon he started to strike the trees in futile rage
Feeling trapped in the wood like an animal in a cage
As frustration and loneliness set in all the quicker
All the while, he knew the cry he needed to cry
And every time he saw the light, he silently tried to reach
it
Yet, it seemed that every time, there awaited another pit
And every time, he’d get up once more to try
But it seemed every time he got up, the light had gone
The Light had not departed, but was obscured by the wood
In his heart he knew this was true, yet still he would brood
Even then, the light continued to break, though not as a dawn
For he had still not cried out for the Light, merciful Light
And until that time, the light would only remind him
Of the love and joy he had before he followed a whim
The torture was his own creation, and not from the Light
For the light itself, reminded him that he was of the Light
He was not of the wood, yet he was lost within the wood
The dark forest sought to trap him wherever it could
Seeking to quench the joy that was once brilliant and bright
Barely a sound escaped his lips, yet his heart cried out
A nearly inaudible, yet ever so real cry to the Lord
Swiftly, the dark trees shattered, the light, a brilliant sword
The desperate, sorrowful cry changed to a joyful shout
Despite the failures and sins of the son of the Light
His Father, the Light, had neither forgotten his son
Nor had he forsaken him, for His work was not done
He simply tarried ‘til the time He knew was perfectly right
At the designated time, He moved within His son’s heart
Igniting the fire that lead to His son’s desperate cry
And when it reached the Father’s ear, He broke the great lie
Restoring His wayward son with a love that spoke to the heart
And once more, the son sought to follow the path before him
He knew the journey still held many trials of unknown kind
But, he also knew his Father’s Word guarded his heart and
mind
That the Lord would hold him ‘til his time, though life turn
grim
Let us not forget the love and mercy by which we were bought
For a price so high, how could we not consider the power of
grace?
Stumbling or not, we have been given the strength to run this
race
To the end, where we will finally realize what God hath
wrought
