don't give the darkness any air time,
but life isn't cupcakes and rainbows,
there are obstacles, detours, tragedies, and injuries,
this side of heaven,
bear all emotions and experiences,
if we do not comprehend, process, and deal
with all that we traverse,
do we not become lodged into
deep ruts of slick mud,
isn't it part of learning,
by learning that from experiences of others,
the Old and New Testaments
are the definition of this thought,
what if we only saw
Moses with the good things only he did,
or Joseph or Peter or Paul,
if we did not hear the darkness that filtered into
and through their earthly life,
would we be inspired
and draw closer to God?
would we have reason to?
it's not an issue with air time,
air time means I own my mistakes and past,
I give glory to God
for surviving, for learning, for thriving
and take away the spot light on satan,
when I tell my story,
when I use it to tell the glory of God in my life,
satan loses,
he has the chains around me broken,
his hope and attempts
to keep us isolated and suffering,
vaporize with the light we shine
when God is glorified through us,
we reach out to those
who are hunkered in the corner
with a prison of chained darkness
and give them light
to break free,
we reach out to those
hiding their wounds
out of perceived embarrassment
and give them a healing touch
straight from above
showing that even Jesus had scars,
we reach out and give our inner demons
to God, who demolishes them,
to rebuild us in His glory.
~T.J. Swisher
2021
Maybe this poem is done...maybe it's just the beginning...
it is inspired and a steady stream of consciousness by the very definition.
The darkness does not own me...I own it through the glory of God and the light He gives me that
I can shine on it and destroy it.
