His kindness led me to a place
I never would have gone
a realm of strangeness, full of hate
His hand brought me along
His kindness broke my back upon
that rod so long and hard
twisted my body to and fro
amidst that desolate yard
While others suffered by my side
I thought of only me, so
His kindness kept twisting the knife
as I struggled to break free
And when at last I’d had enough
when my body’d given out
I looked to heaven, full of hate
and heaved a mighty shout
His kindness pushed me down so hard
I lay gasping in the mud
the grave it opened all around
the stench of hell a flood
In His kindness He broke every bone
my body, how He pummeled
if only I had known at first
my pride I would have crumbled
But there upon the verge of death
His kindness was completed
when I called His name He came so fast
that hell itself retreated
He reached His hand, grabbed hold of mine
we slipped those chains with ease
He breathed new life o’er every cell
and drowned me in His peace
Oh His kindness looked not how
nor what I ever had expected
but it was worth each injury to see
my soul, how He protected
It was His kindness that did crush me
and here now I testify
though at times I could do nothing but
hang my head right down and cry
It was His kindness that did lead me
on that day to Calvary’s tree
broken, beaten, dying, faint
I did at last there bend my knee
He walked with me through broken trails
through paths shadowed with death and fear
and He would trod each one again
He counts my soul so very dear
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Greetings Jodi,
My name is Madison and dear friend of mine named Mel gave your poem to me before I left to go serve in India. I went on that trip full of excitement and met with the great grace of God coming in the form of sickness and rest. Not why I had wanted or had planned and yet God taught me much about the great beauty of weakness and the crippling destruction of fear and pride. I remember laying on my bed and opening your poem for the first time. Flooded with tears and I was so thankful to God that He spoke into great brokenness and was a refuge in weakness. Jodi, thank you for sharing something fragile and humbling. God is using you and He’s so very good at using beauty and brokenness. I lost this poem when I left and just recently found it again and it met me again where I was at. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your comment Madison. It was encouraging to read and I’m so grateful our good God used my brokenness to speak to you! He is so good that way. An ever-present refuge!! We just don’t always see it that way…