I have encountered deceivers in shadowy valleys
Surrounded by Satan’s thugs in sin’s back alleys
There, before greedy swine I cast my pearls
They trampled them, then on cloven hooves whirled
While I watched, unbelieving, in horrified wonder
They attacked and began to rend me asunder
Yet every injury and every wound
Have led me to my Father’s Throne Room
There was a time I became hopelessly lost,
On a thoroughfare that was pleasant but false
Its promises appeared real, but were all counterfeit
An easily traveled road til I fell into its hellish pit
I fell hard and seemed doomed to an imminent death
Until I was rescued, sheltered, nourished and blessed
Even the time I spent wasting in that deep pit
Suffering every pestilence that hell could inflict
Was a stepping stone towards a faith that does not waiver
An unquestioning faith in Christ, my Lord & Savior
Climbing life’s mountains, struggling on the incline
Travelers extended helping hands, to some I extended mine
Some offered me sustenance, life-saving hope
about the time I thought I would slip on the slope
Some knowingly placed stumbling blocks
I tripped, tumbling heart-first onto the rocks
There grievous injuries I sustained and yet became
a survivor and a lover of Jesus' Holy Name
All my travels on life’s mean Highways
Have taught me to trust, pray, and praise
Every crooked path I’ve ever trod
Has been a step on my crooked path to God
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Brenda: I applaud your ability to so skillfully describe the most unpleasant of subjects (Unsacred Secrets included) that are common to man. Where most would just rather forget, you have shone a light into these dark crevices of the soul, revealing that we are not alone even on the rocky backroads of life, and that can only induce a healing. Brenda these are deep places that most of us don't know how to express. Thank you for doing it so well for all of us. Even the darkest experiences can be magnified to God's glory when we are willing to share them for the good of others. The Lord Bless You.
It occurred to me Brenda that even when we find ourselves like lost sheep going down a crooked path -- God loves us so very much and in His awesome mercy, "He will go before us and make crooked paths straight".
