March | 2023 | My Rhymes and Reasons

**The Winner of Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards has a title worth pondering**

Everything, everywhere, all at once
is crashing in on me.
My world is spinning out of control.
I’ve lost my grasp.
I’ve lost my confidence.
Hope is slipping away.

To quote the psalmist
(just like Jesus did),
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

In this chaotic universe,
cursed by sin
and broken by self-destructive choices,
everything, everywhere, all at once
derails my dreams,
drains my energy
and robs me of my faith.

Still I will cling to You.
I will cast myself upon You.
With what little faith I have left
I will leap into arms I cannot see
but trust are there.

Lord, You are my everything.
You are everywhere all at once.
There is nowhere where You are not.
You are ever-present.
You are all-knowing.
Nothing escapes Your watchful eye.
You are all-powerful.
Nothing is too hard for You.

Because you are my everything,
everywhere all at once,
you know what I need.
You know what I lack.
You know what I long for.

Carry me, Father in Your everlasting arms.
Hold me close to Your beating heart
that I might hear the pulsating reminder
of Your never-ending love.

**A vintage photo of Wenatchee, Washington (my hometown)**

The way it was is gone for good,
but it sure was good back then.
No wonder we are always quick
to ask “Remember when?”

We savored life. We thanked the Lord,
even though those times were tough.
We didn’t have what we have now,
but we sure had enough.

We scrimped and saved to get ahead,
but mostly stayed behind.
Still, neighbors knew when we had needs
and helped us in a bind.

The good old days found us in church.
We made sure we were there.
We were one nation under God.
So we took time for prayer.

But now it seems we’re backwards prone.
We are wealthy, but we’re poor.
We’ve little time for those we love,
while jobs we hate take more.

But since we can’t rewind the tape
to days of yesteryear,
let’s make the most of time God gives
and cherish those we’re near.