Today, I want to share a poem/prayer I wrote

in response to an anonymous poem called, "Stray."

Because of Jesus, no one is a stray.

I pray this prayer

roots you in truth, right identity, and fresh grace.

//

"Though I've been abandoned, discarded, unclaimed,

You sought me and found me, adopted, reclaimed.

Not one of my moments has slipped through Your hands.

I'm not a surprise in Your perfect plan.

No longer orphaned, unwanted, unseen,

You wrote my name in permanent ink.

You drew a line, a line in the sand.

Inscribed it in blood, the love of The Lamb.

It can't be revoked, removed, or undone,

The Lamb who was slain conquered and won.

Depression must bow, despair must retreat.

Shame has been pierced, it falls at Your feet.

I’m not the tail, less than, or beneath.

You lift me, and love me, Your joy is unleashed.

You're my Forever Father, my Forever Home.

I walk in my Son-ship, I'm never alone.

Hope is my future, my new normal, my breath.

Because I am Yours, I'm favored and blessed.

"STRAY"

No one to turn to, no place to go

Abandoned by parents whom it did not know

IT prayer every day, every night, to be saved

To be given the love and the care that it craves

It has no way to fill the hole in its heart

It is destined to be hated and to be torn apart

It has no identity, no name by which it's been shown

It battles depression, loneliness, strife

And sometimes it wishes to take its own life

There is no hope for this pitiful stray

Nowhere it belongs, no place to stay

-Anonymous