life on an island
by ryan
What might have been,
what might arrive
on these bright shores,
we never grasp.
Almost never.
For we are endowed
this precious island
in constant current,
small and ignorant,
and blind to beyond
the mystery . . .
I penned these lines upon our arrival in Vanuatu, and after more than a year has passed, they have taken on a sort of prophetic significance. It is as if God were preparing us for what lay ahead. We had no idea of the trials that awaited us. Now we have endured storms. We have been shaken to the core. And by the grace of God we are standing in his strength.
The end of the poem has served and still serves as our exhortation:
. . . With open hands
await the tide
with thanksgiving,
confident in
the One who is.
Ryan & Jordan 