Among the Foothills

Among the foothills
Through the silence found,
I look out upon Your Creation,
What beauty to be found.

Among the foothills
Through the scene unfolded,
I see all You have made,
What handiwork unfolded.

Among the foothills
Through the trees of doubt,
I look upon Your forest of Love,
What Love even through doubt.

Among the foothills
Through the turmoil below,
I see all the joy You have given,
What joy in Faith, Hope, and Love bestowed!

Among the foothills
Through the eyes of Faith known,
I look upon Your field of Hope,
What seeds of Hope have You sewn!

Among the foothills
Through the seeds planted,
I see Your will for me unfold,
What plan so blessed have You planted!

Among the foothills
Through every scene ever told,
I look upon Your hand in it all,
What movements of grace, what hand to hold!

Among the foothills
Through this forest clearing,
I see You through it all,
What beauty in every holy being.

Among the foothills
Through this moment of time,
I look upon the sweeping vista,
What life so richly sublime.

Among the foothills
I see You in my Call,
I see You working—
Pushing my heart closer to Thine.

By the River's Edge

Voices carry
And travel down
The darkness found
By the river's edge.

The waters dance
With glowing oranges,
And ripples bounce
By the river's edge.

The flowing water,
Heard not seen,
Enters the mind
By the river's edge.

Crickets, frogs lend voice
To a symphony for two,
One star-lit view,
By the river's edge.

The stars overhead
Peak in and out,
Blanketing us with joy;
There is no moonlight tonight
Down by the river's edge.

A cypress stands before us
Framed by passing clouds,
Darkest black on orange,
Down by the river's edge.

Perched on stones
In the river's course
We open ourselves to the other;
By the water's edge we discourse.

We look to the stars
And to the still water,
To the tree before us
And a distant light afar.

What distant light is this,
This one around the bend?
Is it a man or creature
At the water's edge?

How can I forget this,
This night of distant light?
What inward search, what sight
Did those words bring out?

I wish this light would stay,
Never, never to depart.
What probing, what faint light
By the river's edge.

Come back to me,
To that very night.
Let's return again anew
To that search, for all that was said
By the river's edge.