The Answer to the End

The Answer to the End

The moment I first met Him I knew my life would change

He stepped into my living room and started to re-arrange

The chairs were old and dusty, the carpet worn and torn,

The television blaring and there I sat forlorn

I had no hope within me as He entered through the door

The bedroom was a mess with dirty linen on the floor

The kitchen had not smelt a home cooked meal in many years

The dishes piled high which showed I had not really cared

The bathroom was a sight, a room I wished he had not seen

For on the floor I lay, not knowing where I’d been

The attic was so dark; the light bulb had long blown

And as He entered there He found me trembling and alone

The floor was hard to walk on with the clutter and the mess

The years of bitterness lay there with the lies I had confessed

And standing in the corner was a mirror that was cracked

Its story rang out louder still, speaking of the love that lacked

And on the rickety stairs echoing distantly of the past

The times when all the future held sharp splintered pieces of glass

Great shards of piercing shapes had all but sadly fallen there

Reflections of deep wounds mirroring lonely hours of fear

And then along the hallway He came upon a box

Filled with treasures long forgotten, cast aside like smelly socks

A glint then caught His eye and He carefully bent down

For in amongst this treasure trove was a beautiful white gown

I stepped back in surprise from the radiance, like the sun

Its workmanship was perfect, not a thread was left undone

The sleeves were etched with fine spun gold, with diamonds intertwined

And pearls were scattered here and there, with pure satin it was lined

Never before in my whole life had my eye held such perfection

And here it was in this sad place that held no clear direction.

He moved out to the garden where the grass was past knee high

The weeds had overtaken and had caused the flowers to die

The rose bush was bent over and all the roses drooped

The fruit trees looked so sad as the trunks had all but stooped.

He quietly set to work and rolled up both His sleeves

He mowed the grass that was so thick and racked the fallen leaves

Then at the end of day He turned and went inside

I wanted so to run away and find a place to hide

He shined all the woodwork then vacuumed up the dust

He polished all the silver which had nearly turned to rust

He changed the sheets upon my bed, replaced them with fine linen

Then picked up from the floor all the secret sins I’d hidden

He went into the bathroom and picked up my crumpled shell

And gently washed me with His tears that had a story to tell

We went into the kitchen and I’ll never forget that day

For every dish was sparkling clean and neatly stacked away

He led me to the bedroom and there upon the bed

Laid the beautiful white gown with these words etched in the thread

‘This belongs to you, My child, for I’ve come to dwell with you,

In this place that I have cleansed and transformed to start anew

This is the gown of My Creation, tenderly woven from My heart

And it’s yours for Our great wedding when We join to never part’

Then it came to me quite sudden as I looked on the clean floor

That if I hadn’t answered that gentle knocking on my door

My house would still be broken with the garden filled with weeds

And the lounge room would still echo lonely nights and selfish deeds

But I am so pleased I answered and allowed Him to house clean

For my house is now in order and its beauty is redeemed

I will always be so grateful for this wonderful kind friend

For you see His Name is Jesus and He’s the Answer to the end.

©J.M.Smith 1992