“I have fixed my eyes on your hills,
Jerusalem, my Destiny:
Though I cannot see the end for me,
I cannot turn away.”
After many years of turning away from my Quaker faith, I began to search for something soul-filling; yet each church I attended left me still empty. On the first Sunday of Lent in 1989, I attended St. Mary's Catholic Church with a friend. Their gathering hymn was “Jerusalem, You Are My Destiny.” It spoke to me so personally and resonated so deeply. Now years later, during every Lenten season, its message reenergizes my faith once more. Here's my poem to explain:
A breath of Holy Spirit for decades lay in lea,
It nudged a seed long dormant, biding time to coax it free.
A whisper of forgotten wind, a promised, gentle whoosh
Began a saving journey with persistent, holy push.
That fragile seed of faith struggled strong to grow anew,
And with the help of friends and family, it even stronger grew.
Drinking deep the Holy Waters, it gripped life with lusty force,
A seed fertilized with fervor; the hand of God, its source.
Years later, during Lenten time, the promise duplicates,
Remembering that call to God, its strength rejuvenates.
Jerusalem is beckoning, both Him and me it seems,
Reminding me through daily prayer, through passing thoughts and dreams.
Thanks be to God for patience, for his latent plan for me.
For the showing and the sharing of my needed destiny.
My thirsty faith renews itself each year at Easter time,
As I fix my eyes on Holy Hills, my journey's end sublime.
Glen Baldwin
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