As most all of you know, neither Hannah nor I grew up in the inner city. In fact, we both grew up in quite different environments. Me in a small farming community and Hannah in the quiet suburbs. When we began to feel directed to urban ministry there were a lot of questions in our minds; a lot to think about. We spent months praying and struggling with this calling. During this time my relationship with God grew stronger. I spent more time praying and reading the Word than I ever had before. One day while having my scheduled devotional time I ran across a poem that stood out to me enough that I wrote it down. Several months later after the decision had been made for us to move to St. Louis we were looking for a name for our new blog, something that would be relevant to the city. I was looking through my journal for ideas and found the poem, What Christ Said. It reads as follows:
What Christ Said
I said, “Let me walk in the fields.”
He said, “No, walk in the town.”
I said, “There are no flowers there.”
He said, “No flowers, but a crown.”
I said, “But the skies are black,
there is nothing but noise and din.”
And he wept as he sent me back,
“There is more,” he said, “there is sin.”
I said, “But the air is thick,
And fogs are veiling the sun.”
He answered, “Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone.”
I said, “I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say.”
He answered, “Choose tonight,
If I am to miss you, or they.”
I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, “Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have followed the steps of your Guide.”
I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town;
He said, “My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”
Then into his hand went mine;
And into my heart came he;
And I walk in a light divine,
The path I had feared to see.
