It was early that crisp, Spring morning;
The air was cool and fresh and clean.
A new dawn was just about to break.
Sunlight woke the forest from a dream.
I sensed a welcomed peacefulness:
A quietness that’s a kind of sign
Of an impending momentous happening.
Something grand. Something divine.
The morning warmth was about to be
As I saw and heard him come my way.
Determined, methodical, contemplative,
Through the meadow this eventful day.
Trousers wet from dew half up his calves,
Unnoticed, he wore greater concerns.
I heard him humming ever so softly,
Thoughtful, as he brushed through ferns.
He entered the secluded grove
Where I observed him from my perch.
He’s familiar with this wooded place;
Hallowed ground guarded by tall white birch.
He removed his well-worn hat,
Revealing waves of golden hair.
He stood and thought and gazed around,
Appraising the surroundings there.
For an instant I thought he saw me.
If he did, he gave no clue.
Then this boy in dew-soaked pants
Did something and I almost flew.
He knelt. I saw his concentration.
He bowed. I watched him close his eyes.
He spoke. Aloud to his God and mine.
He asked. Simple, yet profoundly wise.
I could tell that God was his friend
As he inquired about what to do.
His face now soaked with tears.
His knees now soaked with dew.
“Lord, I know Thou lovest us.
In heaven, I know Thou art there,
That Thou givest to all men liberally and
That Thou wilt answer a humble prayer.”
He stopped. Pond’ring o’er what he’d said,
Or perhaps for what he might next pray.
But patiently he focused, intent,
Anticipating something more to say.
His head, his shoulders and the ground
Began to brighten and whiten brilliantly.
And in his pause he felt the warmth
And opened his eyes to gaze up slowly.
The prayer of millions was being answered:
God Lives. God loves. God hears. God is.
The heavens had opened up once more
Revealing our Father and the Son of His.
More light came to the world that day!
I witnessed it – maybe the only one.
Before He left God glanced toward me.
His smile, His love, warmer than the sun!
The boy stayed for some time more,
Surely awed about the dawn’s new light.
I too was trying to take it in:
How God’s love had pierced the night.
The lad seemed humbly confident.
No doubt he’d learned what’s true.
At length he stood, empowered.
Resolved to do as he’d agreed to.
Oh, I could help myself no longer as
A song burst from deep inside my core.
“Oh how lovely was the morning,
The heavens now parted forevermore.”
Back through the meadow he went again,
Retracing his steps the way he’d come.
Both he and I were changed forever
By the visit of the Father and His Son.
Bishop Wm. Calvin Hughes
July 28, 2009
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