A poem on heartbreak and yearning

Written by: Natalie Yeo (Photos by: Marcus Goh)

I close my eyes, take a deep breath;
lay down the consuming worries of today,
and anticipate all that is to come tomorrow.

There have been far too many recent nights where
I vividly recall stark headlines from the newspapers,
wondering how this world has become so
broken,
indifferent,
perverse,
self-righteous,
self-gratifying.

When I read about overwhelming reports of
abuse,
death,
depression,
disasters,
murder,
pollution,
politics,
rape;
a sense of injustice and discontent consumes me.

This is not the world You created, God.

This is not Your original design.

This is not what You intended for a people You love.

Surely ignorance is not bliss!
Not when lives are fast slipping a w a y –
Damned to death, sold to sin.

I remember reading about gang rape in India:
young girls
never recovering from the trauma,
taking their lives as a result of immense shame;
mothers
weeping over the loss of their little girls;
fathers
wondering how they can live with such pain or guilt…
how their family name could ever bear repute again.

My heart burnt with deep anguish,
adamant that the guilty men be put to death for their sin,
wishing they would taste the grime of their crime,
and forever be condemned;
held responsible for the blood on their hands.

I remember dear friends
who miscarried their babies,
carrying deep grief
knowing there are no certain answers
to their jarring questions…

“Why, God?”

Incapable of understanding the intensity of pain,
my heart silently breaks and aches,
sharing in their grief of a beautiful, precious life lost.

Alarm bells ring and I let out a scream within:

This is not okay.

This is not okay…

This is not okay!

We are in pain.
We are all in pain.
We are all in pain and dire need of saving.

The world doesn’t know it needs a restoration.
Salvation invites and beckons,
yet so few acknowledge mankind’s greatest need for God.

But in the quiet, I hear a significant whisper:

I’m
coming
back.

I lean in again and it echoes:

I’m
coming
back.

In the silence,
with mustard seed faith and belief,
I wipe away tears from my eyes,
and utter these poignant words:

Maranatha,
come,
Lord Jesus,
come!

I await that day;
that glorious day
to behold You in Your glory
and declare:
“Worthy is the Lamb!”