Overwhelmed by Change

How often has any one of us been overwhelmed by the expectation of change? External changes can disrupt many things in our day. But what about internal changes? How do we respond when God is asking us to think differently, respond differently or allow ourselves to feel again?

I am amazed as I watch the power of God at work in the lives of the women who come to the Lydia Center, who everyday are challenged to face change. Most often fear is the obstacle to that change. Fear of failing, fear of the unknown and often fear of being overwhelmed with emotions that have been avoided or buried for many, many years. This frequently brings each of them to a crossroads in their journey of change. Do they take the risk or do they stay where they are? As we encourage the ladies to turn their eyes upon Jesus it also reassures me that I can do likewise in my own journey of change. As King David wrote, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I. (Ps. 61:2 KJV).

Tina Hildebrand
Lydia Center Counselor

Bigger than a Birthday Gift - Lydia Center

This story of new life and transformation, is part of our 'REVIVE 2011 Spring Campaign.' For details about how you can join this campaign, check out below...

Our team at the Lydia Center had a new resident come to us in January, and she accepted the Lord in March. On Wednesday of this week we took her to the dentist where she spent the whole day getting dental work. After her visit was finished, she was given a prescription for vicodin.

As my birthday gift for today, she told me that she had a victory yesterday.

She went on to explain that she could have smoked a cigarette during her visit at the dentist since she was on her own all day. Yet, she didn’t. And, she could have filled the prescription for vicodin, which would have led her back to her addiction, but she didn’t - in fact she returned the prescription to the dentist.

She said that she just kept thinking that she didn’t want to come back here and have a secret. It is so exciting to the work of the Holy Spirit in this new believer!

Melissa Alcorn • Executive Director, Lydia Center

Join the revive 2011 Spring Campaign...
This Spring, we’re inviting you to revive your partnership with Water Street Ministries. Through your prayers and your giving, you can revive lives and advance God’s Kingdom.

Will you join us?
- Send a special gift this Spring. Donate online.
- We welcome your wisdom and counsel. Email us at Contact@WaterStreetMinistries.org.
- Commit to pray for God’s wisdom, provision, and the organization as a whole. Sign up for our Prayer Calendar.

For more information, visit www.WaterStreetMinistries.org/Revive, email Contact@WaterStreetMinistries.org or call Keith at (717) 358-2010.

New Life, and Spring - BLOOM at the Lydia Center

This story of new life and transformation, is part of our 'REVIVE 2011 Spring Campaign.' For details about how you can join this campaign, check out below...

Andrea Handwerk • Lydia Center Intern

Spring is in bloom on Grace Plateau. The grass is green. The flowers are showing their buds. Life is coming forth after a long winter. Just as spring is taking its root in the creation around us it is also evident in the hearts and lives of the women here.

The other day I had the opportunity to talk with one of our residents about what the first two months in the program have been like for her. She is one who came to us from prison. As a young girl, she found she could be valued by others by acting tough and strong. The “tough girl” approach became the way that she would relate to whatever came her way, and the people in her world. She cared little for others and only looked out for her own well-being.

A little over a month ago this “tough girl” chose to surrender her life to Christ. Since then her countenance has completely changed. It has softened. This is, without a doubt, the work of the Holy Spirit in her life. A new tender part of her heart is being exposed. She is breaking free and walking in freedom for, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17).

It is not only evident to her, but also to those in our community, that she is becoming more others centered. She described this as something new and unknown for her having rarely cared what happens to people in the past. For the one who went through life being numb she is now starting to feel more than just anger well up inside her. The ways in which she would manage any kind of unwanted feelings in the past is no longer working. She shared, “I know I don’t really understand everything that’s going on inside of me, but I know that God is with me and I just have to trust Him with that.” While the newness of actually feeling a range of emotions brings a sense of being out of control, she is choosing to rest in the One who is in control.

I can’t help but reflect on the verses in Isaiah 43 where God speaks to his people of their redemption:“Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (v. 18, 19)

God is doing a new thing in the life his precious daughter. He is making beauty out of ashes. She has been given new eyes to see that she is valued far more beyond the constraining facade she projected as the “tough girl”. She is valued by her King simply for the beauty she is!

This Spring, we’re inviting you to revive your partnership with Water Street Ministries. Through your prayers and your giving, you can revive lives and advance God’s Kingdom.

Will you join us?
- Send a special gift this Spring. Donate online.
- We welcome your wisdom and counsel. Email us at Contact@WaterStreetMinistries.org.
- Commit to pray for God’s wisdom, provision, and the organization as a whole. Sign up for our Prayer Calendar.

For more information, visit www.WaterStreetMinistries.org/Revive, email Contact@WaterStreetMinistries.org or call Keith at (717) 358-2010.

Caught Between Egypt & the Promised Land

This post is part of our current Blog Series - focusing on Addiction! As you read these stories we invite you to share your thoughts, reflections and insights. This series will include stories on addiction, along with 8 articles from our most recent Messenger magazine. Our hope is that as we engage in conversation together, we can gain a deeper understanding in the midst of trials and celebrations of overcoming addiction.

Article 2 (of 8) in the Messenger magazine - Winter 2011 Edition!
By Carrie Libonati, Learning Center Instructor, Lydia Center

No one likes to hear about relapse in recovery, because we often equate it with failure. The harsh reality is that many times, relapse is part of recovery. This is hard for those of us working with women we’ve grown to love and care about. It’s also very painful for family members to accept.

Recently God brought to my mind that many times people need to go back to their Egypt, their land of slavery, to realize just how bad it was. However, they do not go back the same; they take with them whatever changes God has done in their hearts. Because of these changes, they may not fall as hard or as far.

When Susan graduated from the Lydia Center last year, we were excited to celebrate the changes in her life, like the fact that she was living drug free after more than 25 years of addiction. Most importantly, she had learned that God genuinely loves her.

As Susan started to look for employment, we once again could see her looking back to her Egypt. The more she had to accept responsibility of any kind, the more her fear paralyzed her.

When her Lydia Center counselor met with her, Susan realized she was in a stage called dry relapse*. Susan shared, “I have a fear of making choices and taking responsibility, so I just don’t make them. There are things I haven’t given to God yet.”

Addiction is not just about getting high. For Susan, drugs, alcohol and compulsive behaviors had helped her in the past to avoid uncomfortable feelings like guilt and shame. It was a way for her to feel “normal”. We advised Susan to allow herself to feel the discomfort of things like responsibility instead of repeating her lifelong habit of avoiding it.

Unfortunately, Susan made a different choice. We were sad when she left the Lydia Center, especially because she was avoiding something that she had said was so important to her: restoring her relationship with her four children.

Change takes place one decision at a time, and it always involves risk. We know that God is not done with Susan yet. Pray with us that she will allow God to continue to heal her and to bring life change.

*For a chart on 'dry relapse,' see page 6 within the Messenger: Click Here to view.

We love hearing from you! Post your comments below, or Click Here to visit our Facebook page and join the conversation!

Previous Posts in this Series:
Fighting Addiction With the Armor of God
Fighting Addiction, and Experiencing God's Love
Dying to be FREE
She Walked In

Stay tuned for the next post in this series on Addiction!

Fighting Addiction, and Experiencing God’s Love

We're excited to introduce a NEW SERIES focusing on Addiction
As you read these stories we invite you to share your thoughts, reflections and insights. This series will include stories on addiction, along with 8 articles from our most recent Messenger magazine. Our hope is that as we engage in conversation together, we can gain a deeper understanding in the midst of trials and celebrations of overcoming addiction.

To receive our next Messenger magazine electronically, Click Here to sign up.

The Lydia Center is currently home to a young mom who joined our program without her children.

She believed in God until her dad passed away when she was 14. From then she shared that she felt like no one could love her but her dad & he was no longer here.

She was in relationship after relationship and a few were very abusive. She struggles with addiction to alcohol & drugs.

Today she told me that since she has accepted Jesus she feels loved by God & even though she hopes to marry & have a complete family one day she said that just knowing that God loves her right now gives her so much peace.

She is growing in trusting God & loves to spend time reading His word. I see life, peace, hope and a hunger for God in her that she did not have 3 weeks ago. She is actually getting baptized this Sunday.

I love the way our Savior brings this type of transformation!!!

Carrie Libonati • Lydia Center, Learning Center Instructor

We love hearing from you! Post your comments on our Blog, or Click Here to visit our Facebook page and join the conversation!

Stay tuned for the next post in this series on Addiction!

Finding Time for Restoration

We live in such a fast paced society where one must keep up with the pace in order to survive. Often times when life becomes more demanding, the more we busy ourselves to keep from feeling the pressure. This is especially true of any pain we may experience. If something hurts, you get up, brush yourself off, and keep moving. This is what we learned as children when we fell down, and yet this mentality can get in the way of truly allowing ourselves to be healed.

Restoration is such a fluid process. Sometimes we don’t see the progress we think we should. Sometimes we think we should be further along in our journey than we are. Sometimes we think we are the ones responsible for bringing healing to ourselves. Little by little we take back pieces of our journey we once submitted to God. The process is unknown and hazy, and all we can see is what we want our wholeness to look like. We attempt to outrun God, when He is the one calling us to slow down. He longs to draw us to still waters in order to restore our souls, but His miraculous work of healing can only be done when our souls are quieted before Him. It is then, when we relinquish our best strivings, where our souls can find trust rest and healing.

As a staff, we have the opportunity to see the residents of the Lydia Center through various stages of their healing during their time here. For the first time in their lives these women are beginning to face the harsh pain of their past in order to embrace the abundant life their Father has set before them. They are no longer running from that which has kept them in bondage, and yet the motivation to keep the fast pace still lingers. What a joy it is to see them slow down in order to walk alongside their Savior as He gently heals their wounds!

Andrea Handwerk • Lydia Center Intern

Lydia Center - Self-Evaluations and Celebrations

At the Lydia Center self-evaluation is a tool we often use for a resident to begin to learn to figure out why they do positive things as well as negative ones. We train them to figure out why they do what they do. They answer questions regarding the behavior they wish to change and then invite the community at the Lydia Center to ask questions around the choice that was made. When a resident speaks an unkind word, doesn’t do homework, procrastinates on their job search or doesn’t do tasks completely - these things often come from a wound of the past. Self-evaluations open them up to allowing God together with the community at Lydia Center to bring healing in those painful areas from the past.

Today I had a great time chatting with one of our residents who just came to us from prison. She said that when she was in prison she was not looking forward to self-evaluations with the community because she had grown accustomed to being shamed when she made a mistake.

After being here a month she says that she really enjoys them and after each self-evaluation with her peers, she feels loved, encouraged and respected. She says, “I actually have girl friends here”.

She has been in prison for 5 years and says she has learned more this month about herself than she has her whole life and that is partly due to the fact that “you can’t hide here”. She understands that she uses humor to be popular and doesn’t want to do that anymore. She is committed to falling in love with the Lord and even though she has read the Bible before, she now really wants to have intimacy with Christ.

She said “I know my way has not worked”. She was lit up with hope as she left my office – hope that God will turn her life around, hope that she will have a stronger marriage upon departure, hope that He has good plans for her future. I love that God can do so much in a day, a week or a month! Week one wanted to leave……week 4 committed to the journey of life change!

Melissa Alcorn • Executive Director, Lydia Center

Lydia Center receives more than just Groceries...

I was recently grocery shopping for the center at a local market. While I was unloading a very full cart at the checkout a stranger walked over and asked if I would like the slip of paper she held out to me. She said she could not use it but I probably could.

It was a coupon for 7 dollars off any grocery order over $65. I smiled and thanked her and then told her she had just helped feed the ladies at the Lydia Center.

She said “Praise the Lord” to which I replied “Amen”. “You must be a believer” she said as she walked away and I smiled.

I gained a new friend that day. I don’t know her name and I probably won’t see her again this side of Heaven but I will remember for a long time the smiles and the words we shared that day.

As I shared this story, the residents here were blessed with this woman’s giving heart. So many hearts join in the ministry of the Lydia Center. Some names are known to us, others aren’t. Regardless, please be assured that we appreciate your generous gifts and do our best to share the love of Christ here on Grace Plateau.

- Paula Sentgeorge • Lydia Center, Kitchen Manager

Seeing Transformation at the Lydia Center

Last week I met with a resident that was requesting a phase promotion. I remember her first day here as she arrived on a major holiday. She did not make a lot of eye contact and she certainly did not talk much. Since that time, she has come to know the Lord.

What is also so encouraging is that she is now teaching her child, who is living elsewhere, the tools she is learning here. She is also teaching him about taking responsibility for his actions – something we talk about all the time at Lydia Center. In addition to that, she has asked forgiveness from several family members that she felt she had hurt in the past – things that she found very hard to even think or talk about 4 or 5 months ago. The shame is gone and I see new-found freedom.

As I see her take leadership roles here and see her walk with her head held high now, I just stand in awe of God’s amazing grace! It’s unbelievable what God can do in couple of months in someone’s life!

Melissa Alcorn • Lydia Center Executive Director




To Learn more about the Lydia Center visit: http://www.lydiacenter.org/

I AM with you always.

Butterflies have always been an encouragement to me. They are the symbol of restoration, hope & something new & beautiful. I shared this with a precious young woman I have the privilege to share Jesus love with.

She has a life long history of brokenness, hopelessness & horrible abuse. Anything hopeful was foreign to her yet she clung to a hope that there had to be something better. She was very fearful to share things from her past because she was always told no one would believe her & no one would care. You could see how fearful it would be to share yet she continued to press through. We did most of our counseling outside. God always showed up at just the time she needed it.

Every time she needed encouragement a butterfly (or two or three or more) would fly by her or land on her to see, it was as if God was revealing His presence, His faithfulness, and His love for her through this tangible symbol. It became something that we would laugh at. At just the time that she needed hope that she could face the incredible pain from her past God brought that hope in front of her eyes to see.

Recently she was looking at some extremely painful hurts done by some people who were supposed to protect her. She was afraid to look at it. As she was sitting outside a butterfly came & landed on her pen. As she watched it the butterfly then flew to her left shoulder & then to her right. She said she had such peace come over her that she was able to sit there & look at the pain with hope that this pain was not the end of her story. She said she felt God’s presence.

It is priceless to see hope in the eyes of such a wounded soul. She has a hard road ahead in healing but she can tell you that she knows she is not alone & she has a hope not that “there has to be something better” but that there IS Someone better – Jesus Christ.

- Carrie Libonati, Lydia Center, Learning Center Instructor

Merry Christmas from the Lydia Center

Last week at lunch the ladies gave the Lydia Center Staff a Christmas present – it was a song to the tune of 12 days of Christmas! I've included the lyrics below for you to enjoy!

I had asked the ladies what was different about this Christmas, and some of the answers I received were “this is the first Christmas I am not dreading”, “this is the first Christmas I have peace”, “this is the first Christmas in 10 years that I will be clean and sober”, “this is the first Christmas that I have joy” and “this is the first time I’m spending Christmas with people I love and who love me”.

At Lydia Center we had our “family time” on Christmas morning opening gifts that the body of Christ has provided for them and then cooked and enjoyed Christmas dinner together.

So from our home to yours – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Melissa Alcorn • Executive Director

12 Days At Lydia Center
On the first day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
Jakey with a snotty nose

On the second day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the third day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the fourth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the fifth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the sixth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the seventh day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the eighth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
8 hours of weeding
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the ninth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
9 feet of snow
8 hours of weeding
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the tenth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
10 loving staff
9 feet of snow
8 hours of weeding
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the eleventh day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
11 chapters of heart-work
10 loving staff
9 feet of snow
8 hours of weeding
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

On the twelfth day at Lydia Center my sisters gave to me
12 self evals
11 chapters of heart-work
10 loving staff
9 feet of snow
8 hours of weeding
7 ugly bows
6 greasy pizzas
5 hours of task
4 days of cooking
3 hours of counseling
2 holey socks
and Jakey with a snotty nose

Challenged to Increase our Faith

Each week on Wednesday afternoons, the Water Street Ministries staff spend an hour, from 3-4pm, seeking after God in prayer, and ‘fasting’ from work priorities as a community!

Recently, during this staff fasting time, we were challenged to look at faith through the lens Hebrews 10-12. It was a humbling experience to examine my faith quotient.

How does faith in the unseen affect my life and ministry?
To what extent would my faith need to change and expand to be included with the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11?
How does my lack of faith hinder my life and ministry?

These are things about which I need to meditate on and listen to God’s voice.

Philippians 1:6 reminds me that God will complete the work He has started in me until the day of Jesus Christ. It says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It is that confidence that allows me to move forward in the journey Christ has for me.

Donna Doutrich • Ministry Assistant, Lydia Center

Thanksgiving Blessings at the Lydia Center

In this season of Thanksgiving, the staff and residents of the Lydia Center have many things to be thankful for! Two items stick out in my mind: warmer buildings and the employees of JK Mechanical, Inc. of Willow Street, PA. On November 10, 2010, a group of 68 employees from JK Mechanical came to bless our ministry through a community service project. Wow! Did I say 68 people? Yes, I did! The grounds of the Lydia Center were buzzing with activity as doors were being replaced on the cottages, as windows were being replaced in the child care room, as the heating/cooling systems were serviced and as windows were being caulked and cleaned.

The residents have already expressed how much warmer it is in the main building where they attend classes. The new windows in the child care room come at a perfect time as a children’s ministry coordinator has been hired and is planning to start in December. Yeah! The children will have a warm place to play and sleep!

As a way to bless the group, the residents baked cookies and delivered them to the company. Here is part of a thank you note we received. “And as far as the cookies, everyone is enjoying them immensely. The thank you card was quite an encouragement too-especially the personal notes that everyone took time to write. It meant so much to us to know how the Community Work Day has benefitted each person individually. What a blessing this was to us!”

Thank you, JK Mechanical, Inc. for your generosity and service! We are grateful and blessed to see how you took time, resources, and energy to invest in our ministry.




Lisa Good, Lydia Center Program Counselor

Seeing Change at the Lydia Center

Change can be good or bad. Either way, it can “rock” our world. It makes us unsteady and off kilter, at least for a little while.

The ladies at the Lydia Center face constant challenges to their thinking and behavior. It has been my privilege over the past few weeks to watch one young lady deal with the struggle of change in her life. The changes are healthy changes, but they are ripping out everything that she has believed about herself and her life. The struggle is evident and painful to watch. However, there is great encouragement in watching this struggle.

Jesus promises to “make all things new.” Birthing new beliefs and attitudes is just as arduous as the birth of a baby. There is usually discomfort and pain, which is necessary to the birthing process. But, oh the joy that comes to all involved when that “new creature” enters this world. Be thankful for the pain that comes with change.

Donna Doutrich • Lydia Center, Ministry Assistant

Life Lessons from Emma

I recently spent a long weekend in the presence of my granddaughter, Emma. My most frequent thought when Emma comes to my mind, is her spontaneous affections. Emma is a very busy 19 month old that finds pleasure in almost anything. Often Emma will disengage from an activity, run to me and give me a hug and/or a kiss and then run back to her toy, food, etc. I don’t know what her little mind is processing in those moments but I find an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance from her in those spontaneous moments. My spirit is lifted to another level of joy.
As I ponder this, the thought comes to me that this is something I should be offering to God each day: spontaneous moments of affection. To take moments away from the distractions of the day to just say to Him

“I love you Lord, I am glad to be in your presence. I know you love me and cherish me as your daughter. I’m glad you will always be there for me."Because Christ, Emma will one day know this same love. Thank you, Father that we can run to you with spontaneous affection and you find joy in us. I want to be filled to overflowing with your love, Father. Let it splash out of me and onto the women of the Lydia Center. Father, I pray that they will come to the realization of, and learn to receive your love for them and know the joy of spontaneous affection with you. Amen."

- "Emma’s Grammy" Paula Sentgeorge, Lydia Center Kitchen Manager

New Seasons and Celebrations

I love nature and the way God brings changes to us through the seasons. We can expect good things out of every season because every season has its set purpose. Without one season the other seasons would not be complete. So, it is in our own journey of life. We go through various seasons in our lives so that God’s purposes can be established.

This week at the Lydia Center we are celebrating a new season for one of our residents who has completed the program, found a job, and is now moving into her own apartment with another former resident of Lydia Center. We celebrate this new season in their lives and pray that God will continue to lead them through the seasons of life.

Lisa Good • Lydia Center Program Counselor

Watching 'Seeds' Grow at the Lydia Center

Last week I spoke to a client who after being with us for 9 months had left our program without completing it. When she left, we prayed she would do well; and since grace always provides a way back, told her that she could reapply as early as the following week. We were all praying she would.

This client relapsed shortly after going back home and having to face some of the temptations she had previously succumbed to, but got up and continued her recovery. As we talked, she told me that she had not realized all the tools she had received at Lydia Center until she had to use them out in the world.

This client is a success story in that when she relapsed, she knew exactly how to get back up and rely on God to continue her journey of recovery. She is working part-time now, planning to attend Christian college in the winter, and making preparations for her future. What a great reminder that our role is to plant seeds and water and then trust that the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance those things that each client needs as she goes forward in her recovery.

I thank God that He is always at work – that He pursues the residents that leave Lydia Center just as He pursues each of us because He wants to set us free from ourselves and our destructive patterns. Phil 1:6 – “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work will perfect until the day of Christ Jesus.” This client experienced His mercy and grace in fresh ways and she knows that if she does relapse again, His grace is sufficient to get her through and put her back on the road He has for her because grace always has a way back – that real hope!

Melissa Alcorn • Lydia Center Executive Director

New Life Blooms

As I sit in my office watching the blossoms blow off the trees in the prayer garden, I am so thankful for this peaceful place where hurting women can start taking off the layers that have been smothering their souls and be revived with new life.

When Stella* first came she struggled a lot with the program- not caring or sharing with the other women. Through her trials she was motivated to pursue a relationship with her Lord Jesus and he has transformed her life in a beautiful way! Just recently I was driving her to an appointment and she pointed out how pretty the trees were with their blossoms and how green everything was. Before her transformation it would not have been likely for her to point these things out, she was focused on struggle going on inside of her. I shared with Stella the changes I’ve seen in her and we talked about how awesome it is that when we love the Lord and the people around us, it changes our vision- we see things differently.

Lydia Center is not always full of peace but it is so good to know that even through the turbulent times God is working, desiring to bring people to himself and giving new life!
*name has been changed

Joy Gehman • Lydia Center, Case Worker

"The Very Hand of God" - A Poem

The art of poetry has been experienced in new ways at the Lydia Center, where woman have been given an opportunity to learn, write and express through poetry together! There are six poems which these woman wanted to share on our blog, so be sure to read the upcoming poems from this collection.

Many thanks to Jennifer, a volunteer, who lead the poetry class where the following poem was composed:

"The Very Hand of God"
By Dymphna, client, the Lydia Center

As Jesus strolled by my side
I pondered his mercy and grace.
From his fingertips,
Energy illuminated nothingness
From deep in the soil, new life.
In the stillness, the earth moved
As the Holy Spirit drew a tender shoot
So frail, even the slightest touch would crush it,
Yet so mighty it breaks the hardest earth.
What is this, that draws me so gently?
That which could mightily judge me?
That cleanses me from the filth of sin?
Like clean water, mercy from his lips
Reveals my own holiness.
From my innermost being,
The very hand of God
Removes my heart of sin
Freely replacing with new obedience.
As the new sprout of a wild flower reaches
Towards the light from beneath the darkness,
So my new heart reaches for
The very hand of God.

(Poem 6 of 6)

"Prison Cries" - A Poem

The art of poetry has been experienced in new ways at the Lydia Center, where woman have been given an opportunity to learn, write and express through poetry together! There are six poems which these woman wanted to share on our blog, so be sure to read the upcoming poems from this collection.

Many thanks to Jennifer, a volunteer, who lead the poetry class where the following poem was composed:

Prison Cries
By Dymphna, client, Lydia Center

As I was led into the prison of my own making
This time it was not only in my mind.
It seemed death had reached up and took hold of me
Leaving me incapable of calling for help –
Who would hear? Who would care?
What was this place that I had become?
Had death shown his face without the grave?
Uncertainty was my clothing, darkness my sight.
I laid in a weight unknown to me,
Through small openings in doors of steel
The sounds echoed like raging storms.
Eyes like china dolls looked back at me,
China faces in shadows of gray.
Silent prison cries desperately seeking –
Where is my Savior?

(Poem 5 of 6)