The Inspiration Behind First Vespers
Those who knew me when I was younger can
testify to the fact that today I am a different man. God has done a great work
in me. I only walked in the bright sunshine of the meadow for a short time
before I realized that I had been stumbling in a dark forest for years. It was dark
and then it was light. God Himself was my inspiration to write a book of
Christian poetry. After working in the same job for 22 years, I found myself,
by the grace of God, working a new job and being hundreds of miles away from my
wife and family. One evening while seeking comfort in the Bible and saying my
evening prayers, God spoke to my heart directly; saying, “This is your time on
the mountain. Use it wisely.” This was an answering to prayer and I knew then
that my time alone was meant to serve God. What I didn’t know was how I would
go about doing it. As I recounted the few things in life I had been good at, I
remembered that I had been recognized for my poetry in college. I had been published
in six consecutive semiannual issues of American Collegiate Poets Anthology
between 1981 and 1983. I decided to try my hand at Christian poetry and soon
realized that I didn’t know enough about my topic. I studied the crucifixion
and wrote my first poem, “Imagine Knowing.” The poem was unlike any I had
previously written in that the thought of my Lord crawling made me cry. I e-mailed it
to a Christian friend and said a prayer; “God, if this is how I will serve you,
give me a sign that I may know it.” Two
hours later, I received an e-mail from a pastor and a church that I had never
heard of. It was a request to use the poem that I had just written in an
upcoming joint Good Friday Service with the participation of multiple
congregations and clergy friends. My friend had shared my poem with Pastor Craig
who I did not know at the time, but today is a dear friend of mine. Soon I had
a request for a Christmas poem. One thing led to another and here I am six
years later with a book on the Barnes&Noble and Amazon.
