Winter by Tania Bento

Winter

The trees lay bare, 

I try not to stare

But their nakedness tells a story.

They once gave shade, 

but now they're ashamed

Their leaves were their glory.

Unveiled and cold,

missing the days of old

when birds would hide their young in the trees

Loneliness was just a fear and not reality.

Dark clouds come, 

nowhere to run

This is when you're strong,

though wind and ice may hurt you

Stand tall, this is where you belong.

Prayer for Those Walking Through Their Winter

Heavenly Father, 

Creator of all seasons, let us remember that it is You who sustains the cycle of life. 

Comfort us that there is a time and a purpose for everything under the sun. 

Help us to remember that strength is built through enduring trials. 

Help us to turn to You as our Healer and understand 

That sometimes our healing comes through the trial and not in the absence of it.

In Yahshua's Name, 

Amen.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Moreover, He has set eternity in their heart—yet without the possibility that humankind can ever discover the work that God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves in their lifetime. Also when anyone eats and drinks, and finds satisfaction in all of his labor, it is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3:11 TLV

Resource

"Grief Share is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life’s most difficult experiences. You don’t have to go through the grieving process alone."

https://www.griefshare.org/

Hearts of Glitter by Tania Bento

Hearts of Glitter

Three little shining stars of glitter

lighting up my world

Showing me who I really am,

what I'm not and where I'm going

My heart isn't as clean as I thought

but I'm stronger than I've ever been

Something about the refining light

shining through their eyes

That makes me want to be better for them

Teaching me to die

Teaching me to live again

Holding me accountable for where my heart has been

Three little shining stars of glitter that came to change my world

Once upon a morning after I held her in my arms

The first baby, Ellie, brought me into another world

A place where my heart had never been

So full and mesmerized wanting to soak this all in

I thought I could not love anymore my heart would burst

Just then came Elkanah to show me my love could stretch

And two is better than one

I was complete now

our family was whole

Until I met a

whole 'nother girl

I stared in disbelief that Aliza meant just as much to me

Oh the joy that she would bring

Even in the middle of storms she comforted me

I never would have known that to be perfectly complete I needed perfection times three

These little shining stars of glitter lighting up my world

Teach me to die again

Teach me to live better

Stars, in my eyes you glitter

And paint a more lovely world

Prayer for Those Who Have Mothered or Fathered Those That Shine

Heavenly Father

Teach us to appreciate the little ones in our lives. 

To respect their role in our personal growth and love them for it.

Father

Help us to love unconditionally and without restraint. 

Use us to show this generation what it means to love,

 You with all their heart, soul, and might and their neighbor as themselves.

 Let us realize the amazing grace 

You've shown us in giving us children to love. 

Lover of our souls.

Show us how to love them in such a way that they encounter You and feel their worth,

Enabling them to receive the calling 

You've placed on their lives.

In Your Beloved Son's Name,

 Amen.

"But Yeshua said, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

Resource:

Help the Children of Haiti through

https://loveachild.com/