SHADOWS OF THE PAST – ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER

It was at the height of its opulence, this city from of old,
It commanded respect and attention, its streets were paved with gold,
It shone like the brilliant sun in the sky, reflecting its bright rays,
Within the dark shadows, secrets survived, infecting light of days.

The brilliance soon disappeared from all sight, as darkness slithered in,
No one realized what was happening, knew nothing of this sin,
The ominous shadows penetrated the brilliance of the day,
Corruption and greed encapsulated and sent the good away.

That once shining and glorious city, no longer casts its light,
What remains are shards of days long ago, decay, great loss and blight,
If only the fire had been overseen, by those within her gate,
Perhaps a flame would rise from the embers, and new life would create.

We should learn from our own sweet history, but we often fail the test,
We think that we have the perfect answers, we think that we know best,
Instead of trusting our almighty God, we struggle, and we fall,
Still patience abides in His gracious love, His love is meant for all.

The clock in my kitchen doesn’t change when daylight savings time occurs. It’s too high for me to safely reach it. Our grandfather clock is always set for 9:00, because the inner workings are packed away somewhere and it’s too much of a chore to find them. Time on other clocks in our house are reachable. We have access to the correct time on our computers and phones. There’s an app for everything these days. One thing we haven’t been able to manipulate is time. It comes and goes like “clockwork.” Nights turn into days, days into weeks, weeks into months and so on. We come to the end of a year with hopes of making the next year better, but those hopes are soon dashed and life steps in instead. Just like the hands of time, life marches on. History repeats itself. Illness steps in. Political issues rage. Raising a family comes with a whole new set of issues. Death will come to each of us. Problems will occur. Relationships will fail or flourish. 

The only way change can occur for the best, is to trust in the One who created time. The first day and night were made possible by God. That first second involved time and eternity. His time has already been mapped out for us and only He knows what the outcome will be. Times change yes. God changes everything through His precious Son, Jesus.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND GOODBYE 2023 – FROM THE BOECHERS!