Seeing What I Have

by Cheryl Merrick
Seeing tender love in my husband's eyes,
Feeling the warmth in friends and family's hearts,
Experiencing opportunities to love in return,
to teach, counsel, and inspire,
I feel loved.

My words of gratitude
reach upward as
His love fills
my soul.

Grateful for Weaknesses

by Cheryl Merrick

Blessed with an astounding intuitive ability
to see and foresee patterns of human behavior, 
I feel humbly grateful.

Preferring intuition over sensing
also makes me astoundingly weak
in handling the many details of life.

This weakness has brought me 
tears, frustration, embarrassment, 
and finally to my knees 
humbly begging God for His help
in coping with the small things
that others do so easily.

What is Fear?

by Cheryl Merrick

Fear is the robber of peace,
and the destroyer of hope.
It is doubt in yourself, others, and God,
     running wild and taking you with it.

Fear is a knot in your stomach,
a thumping in your heart,
and an invisible hand gripping your chest.

Fear is the preemptor of love.
As we focus on our own needs;
"What will I do if --
     he dies? if they do that? if the baby isn't perfect,
     if we lose our job, or our relationship?" ;
our concern turns inward where, like weeds,
fear crowds out our love for others.

A Writer's Life

by Cheryl Merrick

I thought I'd write in my spare time,
perhaps late at night
when everyone is in bed
and all my "work" is done.

So dutifully I pushed though the day,
doing all the little things which "must be done",
until I found myself too exhausted to write
when evening finally came.

Rose in a Vegetable Garden

by Cheryl Merrick

I feel a little strange
     out here among
     the cabbages and squash,
then I remember
     that The Gardener
     who planted them
     also planted me.

Impressing

by Cheryl Merrick

Who am I trying to impress
when I recklessly declare
“I can do it!”,
or proudly tout my accomplishes
at the end of the day.

Just wanting me to be happy,
My husband isn’t impressed.
In fact he is disappointed
to once again come home to
a wife who is tired, stressed, and grouchy
after a day of pushing herself.

Ideal Life

by Cheryl Merrick

Time to enjoy swinging
under my pecan tree

Time to listen to the birds sing
and enjoy the sunlight

Time to spend unrushed
moments with husband,
family and friends

Appreciating Gifts

by Cheryl Merrick

To me I seem
to merely state the obvious.

I simply remind people
of the goal or principle,
or I might share some idea
on how to solve a problem.

Surely, these are things everyone
already knows.

At first I am surprised
at their appreciation,
then humbled
as I am reminded that
my clarity of vision
is a gift from God.

Anchoring

by Cheryl Merrick

Before I get far into my day,
I sit and ponder
Who I am and why I’m here.

I consider what is important
for me to do that day,
and gather my thoughts together
straightening them out in a poem.

Seeking Heavenly Father’s
guidance through
scripture study and prayer,
I am now firmly anchored
and ready to begin a new day

Why I Need to Write

by Cheryl Merrick

I need to write because it is my element
It is how I relax
It keeps me from becoming over-tired
Writing helps clarify my thoughts
It strengthens my spirit
and helps me come closer to the Lord
It helps me to have the Holy Ghost with me
It is my responsibility to magnify the talent I have been given
Writing is a gift to be shared
It is how I inspire others and share the Gospel
It brings my husband and me closer
Writing is my journal
It is how I express my thoughts
I use it to work out problems,
which brings peace to my soul
Writing is how I express feelings and love.
It is how I be me.

Trying on Godhood

by Cheryl Merrick

In the tiny realm
called Earth,
with short term
consequences
and limited
power,
We try on Godhood.

Showing by our
thoughts and acts
if we are capable of
learning more
and responsible enough
to someday be entrusted
with the limitless
power of Godhood.

2/2/08

Law of the Harvest

by Cheryl Merrick

Sowing love
Gathering friendship

Simplifying home
Discovering peace

Living carefully
Enjoying health

Pondering scriptures
Feeling His presence

Keeping covenants
Receiving blessings

Planting principles
Harvesting inspiration

Strengthened

by Cheryl Merrick

Sometimes the challenge
may be removed,
but other times
it is used, like weights,
to increase our strength.

Accepting the Lord’s
training program for us,
our weaknesses
are slowly made into strengths.
as He shapes us into
the person
He knows we can become.

Prepared

by Cheryl Merrick

She remembers
     her feelings as a child,
     and now makes efforts
     to help the class feel secure.

Remembering the challenges
     of raising her son,
     the older woman
     wisely counsels her friend.

Never and Always

by Cheryl Merrick

I was never going to
lose my temper
yell at my children
put on weight
become out of shape
take pills
or get old.

My home would
always be clean and neat;
My children
kind and obedient;
And my heart
loving and giving.

Through years filled with
“nevers” that happened,
and those “always” which didn’t,
I no longer boast of my own strength,
Instead, I live
Trusting in His mercy and power
to perfect my weaknesses.
3/23/08

Growing Up

by Cheryl Merrick

As a child angrily pounds on his father’s leg,
screaming, “You don’t love me!”,
we threaten to withhold our love
from God
if He does not immediately
give us all we desire.
After all, we, in our toddlers wisdom,
feel sure we now know what is best for us.
At least, we know we want it right now,
and our father should give it to us.
If He truly loves us, wouldn’t He want us to be happy?
With a surety breed from ignorance and arrogance,
we constantly test Our Father’s love,
demanding His immediate fulfillment
of our every desire.
In peace He stands,
enduring our childish blows and shrill screams,
our pouting and our sulking.
In love He withholds what would harm us,
waiting for us
to accept His wisdom
and begin growing up.

Grateful for a New Path

by Cheryl Merrick

I was busy,
but not happy.
Anxiously I proceeded to do the things
I though I should,
Filling my days with activity,
but not peace.

Mercifully, the Lord stopped me,
ending my frantic pace
He set my feet
on a new more gentle path.

Approval

by Cheryl Merrick

Fearing disapproval,
I bury my talents.

Hoping for acceptance,
I try to be like others.

Endless details
done to please people
fill my day.

Thinking I am doing
what is expected of me,
I neglect my gifts.

Till, at last,
I remember the giver of all gifts,
and seeking only
His Approval,
begin to share my talents.

Whole

by Cheryl Merrick

Four sisters sat,
   Each silently congratulating herself
   On a job well done.
I am so diligent in reading the scriptures,
   Thought one, surely I am doing right.
Look how I care for my body, my temple,
   As each day I rise early and run,
   Beamed the second.
As the third stood in her sparkling home,
   She proudly exclaimed that hers, indeed,
   Was a house of order.

Voices

by Cheryl Merrick

The tired woman puts her hands to her ears,
Her mind reeling with all the voices,
Some loudly demanding:
The baby’s cry,
The toddler’s scream,
Her school children’s calls for assistance,
The PTA’s request for cookies,
The Church’s appeal for help with the program.
Her mind is also crowded with silent voices:
the teen’s unvoiced plea for advice,
her husband’s quiet need for support,
her mother’s lonely call from far away,
the sorrowing neighbor’s emptiness.