October 14, 2005

My Journey to God

The Glory of the Day and the Mystery of the Night

So many times I’ve longed to walk off
Into the sun’s early morning grace.
I love the freshness of the purifying frost
And the soft glow of the light on the quiet lake.

The birds make their calming music
As the sun breaks low over the trees.
The moment of beauty goes by so quick
You wish that time could freeze.

As I walk through the falling leaves of autumn
I see the many wonders God has made.
When I look on all his glorious deeds
My old visions of greatness pale and fade.

When the night rolls in and the air grows crisp
The moon and the stars come out to play.
I sit down to make my first-star wish
As the calm of night covers the glory of the day.
The moon hangs low over the glassy pond
As the loon lets loose its quivering cry.
A shooting star makes a wave of its wand
As it flashes across the glowing night sky.

And so another day gives way to night
While the earth relaxes in dark,
And once again day overcomes the night,
As the sun gives off its warming spark.

Praise the Lord for the Glory of the Day.
Praise the Spirit for the Mystery of the Night.
And so in my heart I have to say
Thank you, God, as my own spirit takes flight.

By Alan Jenkins

(This poem was written by Alan Jenkins on Dec. 10, 1998, when he was a student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. His parents, Christ the King parishioners Dick and Janet Jenkins of Indianapolis, discovered this poem in their son’s computer after his death, and said he never lost his love of life and appreciation for God’s natural wonders. He wrote it after his first bout with Ewing’s Sarcoma in the spring and summer of 1998, and as he was in remission over the winter that year. The cancer returned in late summer of 1999, and he died on March 14, 2000.) †

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