Carol Ilbery - Next-Step-of-Faith Writer

About the Writer:
Carol
Ilbery

Depth, compassion and love are the tools Carol uses in her written communication. She paints pictures with words and develops concepts into application. As a mother of two daughters, one twelve years old and the other two years old, Carol is busy but makes time to express what she is learning about God in her life.

Grace Abounds

by Carol Ilbery

Through joy and laughter
Warm sunshine and cloudless skies
Through flowers and butterflies
Warm breezes and cooling rain,
His grace abounds.

Through grief and tears
Dark grey skies and torrential rain
Through quakes and tornadoes
And hurricanes and volcanoes
His love still abounds

For through health
Through sickness
Through birth
Through death
His grace, His love never leave
His grace and love continue to abound

How? You ask
Look past initial pain
Past the destruction
See the children playing with rubble all around?
Hear the laughter as the sun shines through?
Feel the love as a nation
Comes together to help and support those in need.

Now think…
Where does that love…
That patience and unity exhibited…
Where does that come from?

Ahhh…His Grace,
Yet again, as always,
ABOUNDS!

If I Give...

by Carol Ilbery

One night, laying in bed after my prayers, I hear this soft, firm voice ask me:

My sweet child,
If I give my love to you,
Would the world be able to see it mattered?

If I give you my heart,
Would you put it in a wooden box,
Locking it away, only to bring it out like the old good china,
For special occasions?

If I give you my heart,
Would you put it in glass,
And place it upon a shelf like priceless figurines,
To be seen and not used?

If I give you my heart,
Would you just hold it and protect it,
Keeping it near you,
Safe and sound?

If you give your all to me,
I will treasure you always,
My Son I give to you, my grace,
Perfect peace and eternal life I give to you.

Slowly, I responded:

Gracious Father,
Finally, it’s clear to me,
You give me all your love, through everything, You never leave.
It’s so evident where’re I look
Your glory, grace, and love are declared.

And so I freely give my love, my life, to you—
Everything I am and will be,
Knowing that you love me too.
Help me show others that
Your love is forever and always true.

And so I freely give my love to you,
For all to see
That I trust in you.

Author's Note: Originally written for a special someone, I re-edited this October, 2004 after seeing it on a much deeper level—it wasn’t for the “someone,” but for The One, our loving Father in Heaven. What is your answer to these questions?

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