Treasures of Darkness

December 14

By Stan Key

I will give you the treasures of darkness… (Isaiah 45:3).

One year ago, it was today
(Or was it ten? It’s hard to say);
A surgeon’s knife, a tragic stroke,
It seemed our lives went up in smoke.
We thought perhaps that death had won;
But the real war had but begun.
How should we then commemorate
The day that ushered in this fate?

It’s not easy to recall
What life was like before the Fall;
When Katy walked and drove and cooked,
And hugged our grand-kids, read a book.
She had her life, I had mine,
Our ministries were doing fine.
Though we were one we lived as two;
We each had separate work to do.

But now life’s different, things have changed,
Our whole world’s been rearranged!
A wheel chair now defines our life;
I’m an appendage of my wife!
I wash her hair and count her pills,
I tie her shoes, pay doctor bills.
I dare not leave her lest she fall,
It seems I’m constantly on call.

At times I want to kick and scream
And wake up from an awful dream.
At other times I bite my lip
And tell myself; “Stan, get a grip.”
If stoic-like I do my work,
I manage not to go berserk!
And duty-bound I do my chore,
And keep self-pity at the door.

Lord, isn’t there another way
To help commemorate this day?

“I thought you’d never ask,” God said,
“Why not praise the Lord instead?
Yes, things have changed and life’s not fair
But I’m still sovereign everywhere.
And in the place where pain abounds
That is precisely where I’m found!
So stop your grumbling and receive
The grace that comes when you believe!”

And so I humbly bowed to pray:
“Give grace, O Lord, help me obey.”

Though my condition hasn’t changed
My inner world’s been rearranged!
I’m learning to receive his grace
And in my pain to see his face.
Yes there are treasures in the night
That bless and fill us with delight.
But we must find them, that’s our task,
He’ll help us if we only ask.

Celebrating life, courage, and love with family – December 14, 2016