I just finished reading Hind's Feet on High Places

I just finished reading that lovely book by Hannah Hurnard and thought to myself, "what would my journey look like?"  And this little allegorical poem came to me.  It needs editing, but here is the rough copy:

Once upon a time there was a little girl
With a heart very much alive and free
She was full of love and sung the King’s song
What a beautiful thing was she

Her heart’s desire was only to sing and sing
And fall in love with a prince, making a family of her own
Where she could sing to her babies
The sweet songs of the One on the Throne

Little did she know that her great enemy
The cunning, slithering Deceiver, the snake
Desired nothing but her utter demise
His goal was to take her soul, and her spirit break

He gathered his best, meanest fiery darts
With which to plant his ugly seeds
One day when the little girl was picking daisies
He pierced her heart, planting a weed

She had a love tree growing inside her heart
A precious gift from her beloved King
But as the terrible seed from Deceiver grew
In her head his horrid lies would ring

“You are not fair, not lovely to behold,
What prince or king could ever desire one such as you?
You are too loud, too fiery, too strong, too much.”
What was this poor lovely girl to do?

The weed called Rejected grew fast and strong
Choking the Love from the one on the throne
And so this little girl, lovely as she was
Embraced the name “Rejected” as her very own

As she grew up and became a young woman,
She continued to sing and sing to her Beloved King
And one day the Shepherd of the Kingdom of Love
Appeared to Rejected with news from the King!

“My beloved Rejected, come away from your father’s house
And follow the way of the shepherd to my Love
For Love is calling you to live in abundance
Come take this journey to me now, my precious dove.”

Rejected could think of no other journey to take
For her desire was to love and be loved in return
Although Deceiver’s weed strongly planted in her heart
The tree of love ignited a fire that burned and burned

So little Rejected left her home and everything she knew
Following the shepherd, listening to his voice
Some people wondered at this great decision
But Rejected’s desire for Love left her no other choice

She followed the Shepherd wherever he went
He showed her to love others in selfless service
His kingdom was in the least of these, the hurting, and the lost
With joy Rejected embraced the way of the Shepherd

The King revealed his promises, his desire for her life
He would give her a prince of her own, and children
From this family would come great love and hope
Filling the earth with the glory of the King

“But, dear Rejected,” the Shepherd would say,
“You must wait for this promise; wait until the right time,
For I must make your heart in my image,
This promise can’t come until you are fully mine.”

Little Rejected, disappointed as she was,
Decided to continue to follow the One she loved
And wait and wait and wait until the time came
For her great, strong prince to pursue her heart

She continued to serve and walk on the path of the Shepherd
But in her serving and waiting, became weary
This wait seemed too long, too treacherous
How much longer would it be?

Her path only seemed to get more difficult,
This wilderness, this desert never seemed to end
And one day she decided to give her heart away
To a man who had forgotten about the King

He couldn’t love this precious Rejected
He simply needed to be free
So she, in her broken, bleeding state
Wandered about, not quite able to see

Her songs were gone, lost somewhere in the desert
And this was her enemy snake’s great joy
He knew that this was just the thing
For him to steal, to kill, and to destroy

He again spoke the name Rejected, along with all the lies
Into her poor, shattered, hurting heart
“You see, no one will ever want you, you repulsive thing,”
Perhaps this slithering Deceiver had torn Love apart.

Rejected wanted so badly to follow the Shepherd
And tried and tried to serve in the kingdom of Love
But she couldn’t stop this aching, this yearning
For the desires of her heart, so she chose another path

Rejected chased after other lovers, after foolish men
Hoping to find love, to find some kind of relief
She simply couldn’t believe the King’s kind words
All that reverberated was her worldly, snakely grief

So broken, so torn, so desperate, this poor Rejected
Why couldn’t she find her heart’s desire?
Where was the promise from her King?
Each futile attempt at love only fueled the fire

The Shepherd continued to call her name
But rejected simply couldn’t quite hear
How could something so lovely, so free, so beautiful
Be consumed with Worry, Doubt, and Fear?

Patiently he waited for his precious child
locking her paths, bringing her back, helping her see
So she could one day recall
What joy his Love could be

As Rejected grew weary of this lonely journey,
She remembered her romance with the King
So in her shame, slowly returned to his path
After the King, once again his praises to sing

He didn’t yell at her, reject her, or rage
Nor did he shutter at the sight of her unclean soul
His love saw a princess, a bearer of light
And he greatly desired to make her whole

Rejected began to remember the words of life
Embracing his path, lonely as it seemed
For there couldn’t possibly be anything worse (she knew)
Than being parted from her King

The King brought her up to the mountain
And she surrendered fully to him, giving everything inside
Her desires for a prince, for children, and for Love
Everything she clung to in this world finally died

As she lay bare, the fire in her heart burned for the King
And then Rejected asked him to remove the evil weed
The King warned her of the pain she would feel
But Rejected had to be rid of it, it was a great need

The King’s strong hand pulled out the festering weed
Rejected shrieked and fell into the arms of her king
He rejoiced over her with singing, quieted her with his love
And in her pain, she found the desire to sing:
“Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to thee
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of thy love, at the impulse of thy love
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee
Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King, Always, only for my king
Take my silver and my gold
Not a might would I withhold
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise, Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my will it is thine own,
It shall be thy royal throne
Take my heart it is thine own
It shall be thy royal throne; it shall be thy royal throne
…And my heart burns for you….”

In her death to self the king found great delight
He knew the plans he had for her: prosperity and hope
Oh how the king had longed for her sacrifice
After she poured out her heart completely, he spoke:

“You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God,
No longer will you be called “Rejected”, but you will be Hephzibah,
“My delight is in her,” although you think this name is odd.”

“Odd?!  My Lord!  It does sound strange, but I love it!”
Hephzibah couldn’t contain her joy and delight
She and the king laughed and laughed and laughed together
There was no more shame, nor worry, nor rejection, nor fright!

Hephzibah rejoiced and danced up on the mountain
Once again she was able to sing and sing and sing
O what a delight it is!  She had found her Love!
In the presence, in the arms of her mighty King!

As she spent those days up on the mountain
Soaking in every bit of his Love,
She remembered the path of the Shepherd
Of the hurting, the poor, the others who need his Love

“My King, my love, my heart hurts for those I have served,
I know you want me to love them, but when?
When will I come down from the mountain?
When will the ministry you promised me begin?”

Dearest Hephzibah, I have not forgotten
The tree of Love I planted in your heart
Whose fruit will nourish the hurting and the fatherless
Those whose worlds have been torn apart.

Continue to rest in me; soak in my love and healing
Let the words of life penetrate every fiber of yourself
When the time is right, I will lead you back down
To share my loving kindness and heavenly wealth

In you I will birth ministry to families who are hurting
You will be a wife to a man of God, a prophet
You will be a mother to children that no one else wants
In you my glory will cover the earth.

When the time is right, You will hear my voice, saying:
Arise; shine, for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you,
And you will see my will be done.”

Hephzibah replied, “I love being here with you Lord
And I delight to do your will,
When the time comes I will obey, I will go where you lead
I will walk in the ways of my King.”













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