Sometimes I equate my "life journey" to eventually discovering God and bringing Him into my heart. For purposes of this section, I describe my journey in terms of finding my "purpose in life" or "my purpose on earth". I hope is that by reading the poems below, it will help others learn more about their own personal journey and possibly discover their purpose on earth.
Whatever your personal "life journey"is, I believe it will only end in peace and happiness when you discover the purpose God intended for you. Until you come to this realization, I feel you will have difficulty finding true peace, contentment and serenity in your life.
Our journeys are very different and of course, very personal. Many journey's like mine take a long time and entail significant pain and confusion. Other individual journeys are much shorter and may be less agonizing.
The poems immediately below describe my search to find myself and discover God's purpose for me. Although the poems display significant pain confusion, I think they show the need to be persistent, until we actually realize our purpose on earth.
The second set of poems express the joy and peace we can feel when we discover and accept God's purpose for us. These poems are filled with the happiness and serenity we sense when we are on the track God has set for us. This does not mean that life necessarily gets easier or less trouble free. It does mean however, our "life's journey" becomes less complicated and more straight forward because we know God is in our hearts and always by our side.
NOTE: We offer a Short Bible Study, "Personal Journey and Purpose" on our site to help. (CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THAT STUDY)
Explosively Neutral
I want to go somewhere
Have prayed to move
forward in my life
Where? I don’t know
I am bursting with
unbridled negativism
Ready to explode with
enthusiasm going nowhere
I am ready for I know not what
My thoughts are of others
My heart is for my children
My feelings for those
less fortunate
Why does “I” permeate
almost every sentence?
Why does “me” dot the landscape of words
and thoughts?
Why?
“Me” thinks it is because
a person called Marsh
is not ready to
move forward
A man named Marsh
is temporarily lost in the
swirl of uncertainly
A father going by the name of
Marsh living a neutral life
A white male feeling neutral
in a colored world
I am a man, just a man
When will this man
become “I” as in;
"I am made in your image"
Or something like:
“I” now understand
“I” can see clearly now
“I” am ready for the journey
”I” was made in your image
God bless me and give me
courage to accept my challenge
To move beyond a
neutral existence
I would hope and pray
for nothing less
04/26/2000 Flying to Seattle
In Circles
Forever in circles
Round and around
Life's Merry Go Round
Forever puzzled
Forever in circles
Confused by
repeated stops
Familiar faces
flashing before me
Circles but with
stops and starts
No one knows
Where do I start?
Where do I stop?
Looking forward in a
rear view mirror
Circles of life
Circles of pain
Circles of hope
Circles within me
Circles around me
Circles surrounding me
for the thousandth time
07/07/98
Nowhere Man
Where am I going
I do not know
But God knows
I see clearly, but not enough
to actually foresee the future
My heart is fully open to anything But, also closed due to the vastness of my ignorance
I can feel freely now
I feel so free I am
hesitant to act hastily
I am somewhere
and nowhere,
at the same time
My mind clear
for the future
Yet, the future is
cloudy and overcast
I have no fear of the unknown
I feel peace bursting in my heart,
but have no peaceful feelings
Maybe in reality I am
already somewhere
Just waiting for God to let
me know I have arrived
As a man I feel like,
a nowhere man
As a disciple I
accept where I am
Knowing God will let me
know when I arrive
03/31/2000 Flight
Chicago to Phoenix
Why Am I Here?
Why am I here?
I keep guessing but,
no answer comes clearly
I keep trying to discover
why I was created
What is my purpose in life?
What will my journey reveal?
The only answer I have
now is, absolutely nothing
I remain dazed
and also confused
I am forever blessed
and peaceful
Doesn’t sound like
any direction to me
Sounds again like
a nowhere man
I don’t want to be a
nowhere man
I have worked very
hard to avoid it
Haven striven to extract
myself for a higher purpose
I am now coming to believe,
this is my lot in life
I am destined to
move with the tides
Flow with the water
Race like the wind
I am a perfect example
of a confused man
An unclear message of,
who I am or
why I am here
I am OK with this
It is my reality
The reality of a flawed
human being
The actuality of a
damaged man
But I know this
That is my strength
and my salvation
My purpose to demonstrate,
there is no peace
for us on earth
Only an expectation of
peace someday
I am blessed because
of knowing this
That is my purpose
and my strength
I know I need
Him to survive
11/10/1999 Drs. Office,
Seattle, WA
Journey
Journey
A very powerful word
Why?
Because journey
insinuates change
Going from one
place to another
Traveling away from the past
Traveling from the present
Moving toward the future
Journey is the
lifeblood of our existence
Without journey our
life is at a standstill
Fixed in place says,
“not going anywhere”
Stationary is, “not moving
Standing infers stagnation
Without journey we do not
move forward
or even backward
Without journey, we are dead
Movement suggests life
If we are not on a journey,
are we in actuality living?
Does our human existence require movement
to sustain life?
The journey can be
easy or difficult
Understood or unforeseen
Simple or complex
Clear or confusing
Even though the
journey may not be easy
Even though the journey
can be extremely painful
Even though the journey
takes us into the unknown
It does not matter where
our journey takes us
As long as we moving
or even trying to move
We can take a physical journey
We can take a mental journey
Does not matter which
Every journey brings us
to the Light of Life
02/05/2000 Victoria Clipper.
Going to wedding in Victoria, BC
Never at Peace
I will never be at peace
My mind is constantly thinking
Thinking about anything
and almost everything
Thoughts developed
through a human mind
Thus, thoughts that are
inwardly focused
There is no peace for
my human journey
How can I be out
of my mind and peaceful at
the same time
Only God
knows the answer
I don’t even know
questions to ask
My mind betrays the failure
to accept His blessing
My thoughts are blurred by
the light of my ignorance
Flight Newark to Seattle
03/05/2004
What Do I Want?
What do I want?
What do I want in life?
What do I want to achieve?
Maybe a better
question would be
What does life want from me?
Sounds fairly simple
except for the question
What is life?
Standard responses say;
Life is being alive
Life is breathing
Life is living life
What is life?
My thought is;
Life is living
Life is dying
Life is a journey
of the soul
What do I want in life?
What do I want from life?
The truth is, “I want life”
I want to live life fully
The discovery of life
The death of living
The life of seeing
The faith of believing
The peace and pain
of every breath
I want it all now!
Whatever life is, I want it
No matter what!
The pain
The ecstasy
The pleasure
The puzzlement
I want it all
In the split second of,
my eternity on earth
10/09/00
Plane Paris to LA
Where Am I Going?
Where am I going?
I think toward a
more merciful life
I now know the way
I just don’t know
how to get there
My destination known
The journey determined
Leading me forward
to help people
To help people realize the
meaning of their lives
To discover life and love
To recover long lost feelings
To uncover beliefs buried by
the journey’s pain and hurt
To rediscover how to arise
and survive in the world
But, survival is not enough
Living to exist not acceptable
Maybe it is to us,
but not to Him
We are created for a
higher purpose
A purpose founded on
love for each other
Full realization of this is,
the world’s salvation
11/05/1998 Plane to White
Plains, NY. Sales Seminar
The poems immediately below deal with the peace and serenity realized when we discover our purpose on earth. It is very easy to see the vast difference in both the mood and words of these poems from the one's above.
You can easily "feel the difference" in my attitude toward life and internal feelings of peace. As mentioned above, this does not necessarily mean life gets easier but it does get much better. No matter what happens in life, if you have God in your heart you will be blessed in your life's journey.
It is fun to see the progression of my poems. They start out talking about finally "starting to see some light and purpose in my life". They finish by recording the unbridled joy in life and feelings of serenity I began to feel.
The Way
I know the way now
So clear in my mind
luminated clearly
Ppunctuated by love
Uunderstood through love
Lessons from the heart
Lessons of pain and relief
Lessons from life experiences
Lessons of His Love for us
Of His caring for us
Of His plan for us
Remembering my Dad
It is so obvious now
His gifts of teaching
His gifts of caring
I now know I am
also a teacher
To teach of:
My father’s love
My Father’s love
I remember clearly now
My father on earth
My Father above
I now know them
It is so special to fully
understand their teachings
To give me hope and love,
and acceptance of their gifts
I now accept my gifts
Strengthened by my
personal life’s journey
Everything is in place
No longer can I delay making
excuses for myself
I feel confident and
feel extreme peace
The road is clear
My journey has
already commenced
11/8/98 Sunday at church
I am Not Afraid
I am not afraid
I have no fear of life
No fear of the future
No fear of the unknown
No fear of the past or the future
Actually, no fear of the present
I will never be afraid
I know this with an
absolute reality
With perfect clarity
With definite understanding
I will never be afraid
A very peaceful thought
I can never be afraid
Never doubting anything
I will always smile from within
Within the sphere of my soul
Within the boundaries of my
earthy understanding
I am not afraid
Of myself
Of others
Of Him
I am not afraid
The freedom of my heart
lights the way in
every darkness
I am free to love
and accept love
Forever without fear
10/09/2001 Plane Paris to LA
Peaceful Feelings
Such feelings of
peace I have today
Peace in my heart
and peace in my soul
Life is beautiful with
Him in my heart
Living in the light
life will never be dim
I have total trust
in the future
Complete trust for what
He has in store for me
I am totally open to all that
life will bring before me
I totally trust my
heart to His love
Such feelings of
peace I have today
Peace in my soul
and peace in my spirit
Feelings of contentment
leading the way to
excitement for life
Excitement for Him and
all He has planned for me
Such feelings of pure joy
Of pure enthusiasm for life
I feel free to discover
His plan for me
I am free to move
forward in His light
Free to float on
wings of love
Free to fly over
pain and despair
Free to soar into
light of the unknown
Unknown unto me
Known fully by Him
I am peaceful
Knowing He is with me
Such feelings of peace
I have today
10/22/2000 Coal Creek Chapel
Feelings of Peace
I feel peace now
Such a relief to
accept my destiny
Fear has disappeared,
excitement reigns
My heart is now open
My eyes see very clearly
through the fog of uncertainty
Through my mind’s haze
and body’s rebellion
I accept the love waiting
when we trust Him
Never have I felt
so peaceful
So at peace
So at ease
So at rest
Waiting for my
journey to unfold
Through my faith
in Him
11/5/1998 Plane to
White Plains, NY
for sales seminar
Have I Arrived?
When will I know
I have arrived?
Have arrived at
my destination
At salvation’s doorstep,
not mankind’s doormat
When will light shine clearly
to illuminate my journey?
I will know when light
clears the darkness
When Light shines brightly
on my tentative
steps into the future
I am finally starting to
witness and realize my fate
Trusting the messages
Trusting my heart
Trusting my faith
Trusting to let go
and accept,
God’s plan for me
11/05/1998 Plane to White
Plains for Sales Seminar
Happiness
What is happiness?
How do you get
happiness?
How long does
happiness last?
Where does
happiness originate?
What is the meaning of happiness?
How do we find happiness?
Depends on your
personal journey
Where you are going
Where you have been
Is happiness self-defined?
Is happiness self determined?
Is happiness derived from
a higher being?
Where does
happiness originate?
Happiness comes
from within oneself
Happiness comes
from the light above
Happiness is
contentment with
one’s self
Satisfaction with
the world
Acceptance of Him
Pure happiness comes
from the depths
of one’s soul
Reflected in the light
of our Maker
1/27/00 Men’s Group
Planning Your Life
If planning your life is a good idea,
why not do it more?
We are much too busy
We have places to go
Work to do
Goals to reach
Tasks to finish
Amusing to me we have no
time for a life plan,
but time for
Sales plans
Travel plans
Budget plans
Account plans
Vacation plans
Avoidance plans
Get together plans
And plans for plans
Why don’t we plan better?
I wish I knew the answer.
I am an excellent planner,
undaunted by complex tasks
But a difficult question lingers
If I am so good at planning,
how did I screw up my life?
Why so many speed bumps
and very, very rocky roads?
Why so much pain along the way?
Why didn’t I plan my life better?
Maybe we don’t plan our lives
because experience teaches
we aren’t actually in control.
If this were not true then:
Why not plan more joy?
More personal pleasure?
More peace in our life?
More time for family?
More time for friends?
More time for ourself?
More time for Him?
We can’t successfully plan peace
or plan to avoid pain
because we are not in control,
God is
And He has a special plan
for each of us on earth.
When we discover and embrace
His plan
our path gets smoother
and our lives make sense.
This is what I have learned,
have you?
03/29/00, IBM Meeting, Schaumburg, IL