New Year's Absolutions! Poem by Denis Martindale

Behold, I stand at this year's end,
Surviving Winter's chill,
Alone this day without a friend,
So solemn and so still...
Within a house that's not a home,
No wife, no child have I,
My only solace proves this poem,
When forced to question, 'Why? '

And yet I live and breathe and pray,
Unheard by mortal ears,
Save those of Christ who says, 'Obey! '
While wiping this man's tears...
To think, there's so much more to do,
More victories yet to claim,
More dreams and visions yet to view,
More hearts to set aflame...

So on I press, towards the mark,
The line drawn in the sand,
The steady stabbing 'gainst the dark,
With God's sword in my hand...
The challenge set before my soul,
The doubt cast out of mind,
As if a soldier on patrol,
Reporting all I find...

And with God's strength, a striving surge,
All sabotage to stem,
A living stone within Christ's Church,
Bound to Jerusalem...
With Scriptures grafted deep inside,
God's light to guide my path,
Christ's Blood when He was crucified,
Remains sins' epitaph...

So, Lord, redeem the year ahead,
Set forth each timely hour,
Such that I conquer doom and dread,
Still marching in Your power...
For this heart serves a God of love
And wisdom borne of grace,
Until life's end when called above,
To meet Christ face-to-face...


Denis Martindale, copyright December 31st,2015.


This New Year poem is based on the life of Saint Paul,
yet it could also apply to many a Christian man today.