Good afternoon,

I first want to thank you for your heartening responses to my blogs, but especially my last blog, What’s In A Name?  Praise and glory to God! He is, through His Holy Spirit, able to help me complete my mission and speak to you no matter where you are. And He is teaching and transforming me alongside you through His Word. I am glad you are joining me.

 As I continue selecting poems from my first book, “Inspire Me,” to write the story behind the inspiration, I find that my poems have a common thread but are expressed through different avenues. Several come to mind, but I will focus on Sea of Forgetfulness today.

 Sea of Forgetfulness pp 12-13, was prompted by a memory, or should I say partial memory, of a short story I had read a considerable time previously. What I remembered of the story was two friends arguing. It seems they were unable to find a resolution, and one wrote his friend’s offenses in the sand. I imagined how I would have felt if that were the case for me. So the theme was set… offenses, writing in the sand, and feelings evoked. I find it interesting how many years had passed prior to the Lord moving me to write a poem with this theme. He knew when I would be ready, and in January 2017, I was ready. I hope you have readied your heart to receive what follows.

Now, if you know me personally, or through my writings, you know I love the beach. It would be difficult for me to imagine a dreary beach, even if it were cloudy, cold, and raining. But my first verse was a picture of the setting I imagined, bringing us to the dreary beach I was walking on…

“One day I was walking along a dreary beach”.

The second verse explained why I saw the beach as dreary (the place I was in life)…

“Love for living had spiraled out of my reach.”

The third and fourth verses explain what brought on this image of darkness and dreariness (the exposure)...

 “There in the sand, exposed for all to see, My sins were written, all the evil about me”.

 Verses five and six are the results of the exposure…

“Guilt and shame came crashing in.”  ”Thought I’d drown, didn’t care enough to swim.”

The first word of verse seven should have been “Yet”, because that’s where it all shifted…

 (Yet) “Suddenly, there’s a presence of something greater within. That moment in my life where Salvation stepped in.”

The Holy Spirit stepped in to guide me out of the darkness. I continue to describe the process by depicting the state of my heart…

 “My heart was empty where Love wanted to reside, To love me forever and walk close by my side.”

Then I step back into the image I had of my surroundings…

” But all I could see was doom everywhere. Lonely and rejected, feeling no one was there.”

The Holy Spirit moved again to minister, explain, and be my guide to Salvation…

“Then consumed by Love whispering gently to my heart

“Forgiveness my dear, that’s where Salvation does start.” (the Holy Spirit ministering to me)

Next is the Holy Spirit explaining to me and guiding me…

“ I inquired how to attain the Salvation He spoke of

He said, “It is a Gift from the Father above.”

Darkness removed in His light I could see

The “Gift He spoke of was walking next to me!

So there in the midst of my many sins in the sand

Kneeling before Him I took Gift’s nail-scarred hand,

I asked Him for forgiveness, now in my heart I believed

And the Gift He offered, I humbly received.”

Once forgiveness was given and I believed, then I received. The mighty hand of God was there to do the rest. He washed me clean!…

“Outstretched before me, He lifted His rod over the land

The waters did yield to our Creator’s command.

With a deafening roar, the mighty waves rushed in

And to my astonishment, washed away each of my sins,”

And here is where my sins are, and the results…

“Cast into the Sea of Forgetfulness, never held against me.

Forgiven and restored, I raised from bended knee,

Surrendered yet Free, on that now pristine beach

Never too far from the Father’s Gift or His loving reach,

Washed clean by His righteousness, that’s where I stand

Neither shame nor guilt, just pure white sand!”

Wow, talk about a metaphor for transformation! Unencumbered by sin, the whole image of the world around us changes from dark to light.

Notice again how the poem ends…

“Washed clean by His righteousness, that’s where I stand

Neither shame nor guilt, just pure white sand!” (Again, a metaphor; pure white sand/pure white hearts). And we stand in His righteousness.

Now, I might have some explaining to do. Although I wrote this poem and narrative in first person, you need to know I haven’t actually walked this “beach”. I haven’t been where my “Love for living had spiraled out of my reach,” but I can assure you, the attacks of the enemy using guilt and shame for my sins, and the fear of exposure, have been relentless at times. Yet, “Gift”, my Salvation steps in and reminds me of the mighty works God has done through His Son’s washing my sins away through His blood, “Cast into the Sea of Forgetfulness never held against me”.  “Surrendered yet free”, from the lies, accusations, and threats of the enemy of my soul. Freedom in Christ!

My friend, if this is you somewhere in this story, and this has spoken to your heart, there’s more. 😊It is all written about in Genesis through Revelation, the Gospel; God’s story. It is the Good News of the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I will end this story with the three verses of Scripture I referenced. Yes, I will write them out as I’ve learned this is important. 😊

Hebrews 8:12 NKJV: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Psalm 29:3 is my next reference, but I will begin in verse 2. “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. V3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters.V4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”

1Samuel 12:16 “Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes:”

Please share this if it has helped you walk from the dreary beach right into the arms of our Savior and transition onto the pristine heart washed clean by His blood. And we, as believers, can walk in it together by remembering what Jesus has done for us and where we stand with Him. The Holy Spirit guides, “ Never too far from the Father’s Gift or His loving reach”, no matter where we are in this great big world.

God bless you and keep you, and I hope you will join me again,

Reba