Conviction

It was just a day in Kyuquot.
The tiny village of Kyuquot.
A dot on the west coast of BC.

A man of God
A crowd gathered
An outdoor funeral service
For another man
One I had met
For only a few brief moments.

A man I remember
Who sat there with me
One different day
On a beach called Mission
Speaking a few kind words into my then lonely soul.

A man who went into the bush

Came out with a bunch of ferns in his hand
To present to me.
With a flourish
And a smile

A kind man.
A man who had just left this world
For another
Another world I did not know
One of which this preacher now spoke.

Simple but powerful words
Words of the man of God
Tearing away my blindness.

A “curtain” pulled aside
And I SAW!

I “saw” GOD!

I FELT God.

God came suddenly
Startlingly
ALIVE to me that day!

He was REAL!
He was AWESOME
He was POWERFUL
And He was PRESENT!

I had not known the SPIRIT of God. But here….
Today……

I could not help but KNOW the power of His presence.
The curtain of my blindness was pulled aside and…..
He was REVEALED.

I left the gathering that day
The bearer of something new
Something that burned inside of me
Stamped into my soul

That singular knowledge
That necessary truth
That there was indeed
One greater

Greater than my SELF
Greater than ALL of us

I had seen a glimpse
An unforgettable glimpse
Of the reality of His presence.

I would not be the same.
I COULD not be the same.

God was REAL
And I would KNOW Him…..

Mmmmm….
That day in Kyuquot

(Written by Ann Justin, Jan 2, 2014 about a time in 1970’s)
Inspired by Daniel Leal, who wrote a poem about an experience in Lindale.

The Pastor in the poem was Earl Johnson, from Esperanza. He would perform the wedding ceremony for my husband Jim and I in 1981

The man in the poem who passed away was David Jules)