Splendor and Joy

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world will be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts his beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good he undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out
— God knows what he’s about.
Angela Morgan

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

(images from Julie’s yard, Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and coral flowering quince / Julie Cook / 2014)