We are held in His hand.
Though the earth may shake
and the mountains fall.
Though the fields we walked,
or the view we beheld
is not, as it once was,
before.
We are not to be disturbed.
Not by an earth
which has only moved in sleep,
though with a great, and drawn-out
moan.
She will, be assured,
settle down.
And the green fields,
will again return.
And the bush, that for now
has lost its hold,
will put down roots
and reclaim the ground, that was
for a short moment
lost.
In the blink of an eye
things can change.
We are reminded of this
when nature exhales
with too strong a breath.
Or in those moments
with life pulls out the rug
from under us.
We are held in His hand.
Sometimes by a grip that is tight,
while at other times
we feel so loosely contained.
And in fear, we believe,
we might fall,
as the land has around us,
to the ground.
But He has us held.
And though He might mould
us to a new
and different shape,
its not for us to constrain His hand.
Instead we are to rest,
like the barren hills,
await the greening,
of the land.
Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
November 2016
North Canterbury Earthquakes
‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.’
Isaiah 54:10
‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.’
2 Cor 4:7-8
Living Tree Poetry 