Fire and Light

T.D. Garten

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781642585742
• eBook ISBN: 9781642585759
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

Fire and Light is a collection of faith-based poetry about the sorrows, lessons, and choices that we face during this journey we call life. It is about surviving and even rising above these struggles. These poems will take you on a journey of suffering and healing, failure and forgiveness, brokenness and restoration. They are about our lives, our loves, and our choices. You may cry. You may smile. In the end, if they made you look more closely at God and your relationship to Him, they have fulfilled their purpose.These poems are born from the author's own life experiences. They are personal, heartfelt, and relatable. If you have lost a loved one, witnessed suffering, stumbled, or questioned your faith, you will be able to see yourself on some of the pages within this book. These poems are meant to invoke thought, encourage prayer, provide some insight, and hopefully, promote some healing to those in pain. Remember, you may find yourself in a dark tunnel or amid a raging storm, but you can survive, and you can thrive. But you can't do it alone. As you read, open your heart so you may see God's saving grace, His love, and His ability to show us the light that's at the end of every tunnel and to lead us to calm waters that lie just beyond the fearsome waves. All we have to do is trust and follow Him.

Your Last Breath

From another’s womb you came

I was not given that precious memory

To bring you into this world

Was not my blessing, was not my joy

But into my life you came one day

And forever stole my heart away

A precious child, unknown to me till then

Became my son, my light, my heart

No mother ever loved you more

Of that I can assure

As I watched you grow

My heart swelled and longed for you to know

No mother ever loved you so

Blessed not was I to share your first breath

Chosen was I instead to share that final one you took

Not a choice any mother would make

Had any choice been given

To spare your life, my life I would let Him take

Though not my choice

A blessing it was

For if your life had to end so soon, my son

Nothing more precious to my heart

Than the time spent those final days

Holding your hand, stroking your brow

Being there, simply being there

Not a moment I forsook

None of my pain would I have spared

To keep from being there

As your last breath you took

These next few poems were my way of coping. They were an effort to heal. Was I healed? No, healing is a day-by-day, never-ending journey of learning and growth, faith, and acceptance.

A Mother’s Broken Heart

Do you see it?

How can you not?

That deep, deep chasm

Of a mother’s broken heart

My heart once whole

Now split apart

Broken . . . shattered

Torn to pieces by your loss

Look inside and you will see

This mother’s broken heart

They say that time will heal

But can they not see?

This wound too deep, too raw

Whatever on this earth

Could again make whole

This mother’s broken heart

Time goes by

Life goes on

Not as before

Oh, how I wish to return

...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24