My Path Archives - Simply Gathering Grace

A LOVE SONG

November 10, 2015 By Mikki Jo 10 Comments

I’ve heard my loved ones speak of how they are homesick for heaven. When I was younger I never understood that, I thought they had simply lost their minds. But as pieces of my heart have gone home over the years, I look forward more and more to meet them in heaven. I understand, yes, now I understand.

Holding close to my heart

the warmth of by gone days

Only letting go awhile

to glimpse Heaven’s Gates.

Taking in the fragrant breeze

that dances with the oak

Sun upon my face so warm

I wander down the road.

Home is where my heart is

I long no more to roam

Only life’s breath holds me

‘Til God shall call me home.

Songbirds sing to me

a love song sweet

Telling me to rise

“Rise, to your feet!”.

“Eternity awaits you friend”

the melody sang loud

“Come home my child,

I’m waiting for you now.”

BROKEN MASTERPIECE

October 21, 2015 By Mikki Jo Leave a Comment

Teacups and sugar cubes remain a random thought
Then I was reminded of a lone cup I sought
It would match Grandma’s sugar bowl simple and sweet
This lovely cup would make the sugar bowl complete

I rummaged through old dishes in a barn in Kentucky
Old books and used furniture everything’s so dusty
Then I spied upon a shelf the flowers so familiar
That graced the old sugar bowl faded and weathered

It still looked majestic with it’s crack and jagged chip
It’s beauty too impressive for just a warm tea of catnip
Someone’s treasure tossed aside I held gently in my hand
To them it was a broken cup to me it was so grand

If at my table you are served some warm sweet tea
Do not be offended by the broken masterpiece
For I serve my dearest friends with the best that I own
It’s the little cup that matches my Grandma’s sugar bowl

Click here to read the devotional that speaks about this teacup and see how brokenness turns into hopefulness.

ME AND DADDY AND JESUS

October 14, 2015 By Mikki Jo 2 Comments

53 years ago the Cuban Missile Crisis was the biggest threat ever known to our nation. Me and my family lived at Camp LeJeune while my Dad was stationed there. My Dad had tried to send us all home to keep us safer but my Mom refused to leave him. I’d say it was the longest 13 days in our nation’s history. You will find a link to Kennedy’s speech, highlighted with his name.

For supper Mom was frying
Daddy’s quarry of squirrel
While Kennedy Krushchev and Castro
spoke of nuclear war

I chewed on Daddy’s dog tags
as I sat upon his lap
While my brother stacked lincoln logs
and donned his coon-skin cap

Daddy said a silent prayer
his eyes gently closed
While I giggled softly
and kissed the end of his nose

The men at Camp LeJeune
waited for their orders
As they looked toward the sky
and the threat so near our borders

It’s many years later
and I hear the experts say
The world was very close
to ending on that day

Krushchev and Castro
dangerously entwined
But me and Daddy stood strong
behind the enemy lines

Krushchev’s spirit wavered
so an agreement was declared
But they didn’t know that God
had heard my Daddy’s prayer

Yes things would be much different
had the missiles launched that night
I’m thankful Daddy knew Jesus
the night he held me tight

THINGS I NEVER HAD

October 4, 2015 By Mikki Jo Leave a Comment

I never had a tire swing

But I had a doll named Mindy-lou

And played football with my brother

With a worn out leather shoe

I had a lemonade stand

For half a day one summer

Gave one cup to my friend

And drank the rest at supper

I never had a princess room

But I had purple butterflies

And a hope chest full of cups and dreams

Of being a gentleman’s wife

I never had silly pictures

Of ballerinas and fluffy stuff

I hung posters of the Jackson Five

While Donnie Osmond sang puppy love

I never had an electric car

But I had a pretty pony

He was golden like the sun

So I named him Goldie

I never had a swimming pool

But I had a little creek

I’d find tadpoles and crawdads

And shiny rocks to keep

I never had a ferret

But I had a turtle in a bowl

Momma said to let it go

So it could go back home

I watched Batman and Robin

And the Bonanza show

But my hard-working Daddy

Was always my hero

Simplicity is gracious

My life has been so sweet

For all that I didn’t have

I never missed a thing

BE STILL MY CHILD

September 26, 2015 By Mikki Jo Leave a Comment

The inventions we’ve created in comparison are pale

To things that God has given us too numerous to tell

Please let me show you, if you will but listen

Turn off, turn down, and unplug your witty inventions

I unplugged the radio with the blaring tune

And listened to the songbirds sing something new

It was a song so sweet and they were all on key

It was a gentle soothing song that God wrote just for me

I turned off the t.v. with the violence and shame

And instead watched my children busily at play

They were very entertaining and it made my heart glad

To know God has blessed me with all that I have

I went out and sat under the shade of the trees

And delighted in the coolness of the feather soft breeze

I sat there so still and whispered a prayer

Simply thanking God for His breath of fresh air

I turned off my computer with my lovely blog

And the sight of God’s palette drew me out of my fog

I took time to smell the roses and savor heaven’s scent

The suns warmth upon my face felt like an old friend

Then I turned off my phone that rudely interrupts

And captures my attention entirely too much

Gently in my heart spoke that still small voice

I’d have never heard Him had I not turned off the noise

Be still today and know that I am He

The one who walked upon the sea of Galilee

I have come to bring rest for your weary soul

And tell you of a place where you’ll never grow old

IN THE LORD’S BOSOM

September 25, 2015 By Mikki Jo 12 Comments

The road was winding and dusty, my heart was beating faster. I was about to drive down the narrow road that my Daddy used to walk down when he was a child living at the end of the “holler”, up a little creek, in the shelter of an Eastern Kentucky mountain.

My eyes couldn’t take it all in fast enough. I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I blinked them back, I didn’t want to miss a single moment. I felt I had finally come full circle. I was finally here, where my heart had desired to be since I was a child. The place where I’d heard my Daddy and Grandparents speak of all my life, their old Kentucky home. I never understood my longing for this place, until my feet stood in the lush green clover on the bank of Frozen Creek in Knott County.

My heart was content. I was home. I knew that this is where I was supposed to be. God had indeed marked this date in time for me to be standing exactly where I stood. I looked at the mountains surrounding me, I felt a security that I’d never experienced before. I explained to my Dad how I felt and he said, “Yes honey, I know that feeling. Like you’re cradled in the Lord’s bosom.” And yes, that’s exactly how I felt.

I’d never been here before, but yet I felt like I had left something here, and I had this day came back to reclaim it. These emotions came from the deep bond I have with my Dad, and my family roots that remain deep in the heart of these mountains.

Many years ago, my Grandparents took the great Ship Mary and Ann from England to the Jamestown River to escape religious persecution. Years later a young man was born. A brave warrior, a man of honor who helped to attain my freedom during the Revolutionary War. He met a young dark haired woman, kind and patient and strong. They fell in love, had their own children, and eventually made their home in these beloved mountains.

The more I have learned of my family and their past, the more I have learned about myself and who I am. And I am thankful for the sacrifices made. I can never repay the debt that I owe to those that went before me. But I have walked in the shadow of their precious footsteps, down a dusty winding road, that lovingly led me back home. Truly, home is where the heart is.