Beauty From Ashes Poem by Robert Lawrence Coskrey

A test of my faith.
The trials I fought.
I never knew the reasons.
I believed in Your victory.

The reality soon came through.
A world of injustice.
Dreams were crushed.
Victory that never came.

Years passed and much lost.
Goals stolen by others.
Never knowing success.
Or, falling in love.

Kept away from Your house.
False ideas and beliefs abounded.
It became something so unreal.
What was going on and why me?

I never found the answers.
Just hope in Your word.
Others who faced trials.
In a sense, walked alone.

Days went by and reality sank in.
My anger grew at God.
It seemed my cries weren't heard.
Was it my sin or someone else'?

My life at the mercy of others.
Nothing I could do to take it back.
I fought and lost too many times.
The rules always changed. Reasons up surd.

Even more, I trusted Your Word.
The world abandoned me.
You never left or forsake me.
Looking back, I see Your presence.

Today, You have delivered me.
So much still haunts me.
Those trials I faced.
You picked me up in Your grace.

What can I learn?
How can I grow?
Maybe this simple lesson.
Your love. Beauty from ashes.