Marjorie Dobson
Times and Seasons - Wiping out the past
Times and Seasons - Wiping out the past
by Marjorie Dobson
Wiping out the past Wiping out the past is not an option. History has happened. Regrets alone will not scour the pages clean. The facts are known. Embroidered by memory, or malice, but their significance is plain. Mistakes are made and crimes committed. Errors of judgement cause …
Times and Seasons - Foreign Fields
Times and Seasons - Foreign Fields
by Marjorie Dobson
Foreign Fields In mud-bespattered ranks men marched through foreign fields, once fertile as the farms at home: their hopes, once high, soon shattered by mud, gas, guns, barbed-wire and no-man’s land. The fields were wet with rain and scarlet blood and vomit; peppered with shells,…
Times and Seasons - Confusion
Times and Seasons - Confusion
by Marjorie Dobson
Confusion Overwhelmed by things we cannot explain and questions for which we have no answers, we struggle to make sense of anything we thought we understood. Along the way, we lose sight of truths that once formed the bedrock of our faith. Continues... ©Marjorie Dobson
Times and Seasons - By a monument of marble
Times and Seasons - By a monument of marble
by Marjorie Dobson
By a monument of marble, or a simple wooden cross, here we gather to remember sacrifice and tragic loss. Blood-red poppy petals flutter, each a symbol for a life, drifting in a crimson curtain, shadow of our constant strife. Verses 2-3 follow ©Marjorie Dobson Metre: 8 7 8 7 D Tun…
Times and Seasons - Agony
Times and Seasons - Agony
by Marjorie Dobson
Agony Agony etched on faces. Pain screaming from tortured limbs. Blood running from open wounds, mingling with sweat, diluted by tears. Victims dying. Soldiers doing their duty. Enemies looking on with hatred blazing. Mothers weeping inconsolably. Friends standing, lost and helpl…
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
by Marjorie Dobson
Romans 12: 9-21 Prayer: Human instincts Vengeance is a natural reaction and most children have the instinct from an early age. We have to be taught to share, to forgive, to live in peace with one another and to resist our automatic reaction to get our own back. So we pray: When o…
Times and Seasons - Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer
Times and Seasons - Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer
by Marjorie Dobson
Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer Where there is distress and tears are the deepest expression of sorrow – God, bring your comforting presence. Where there is pain and anguish that cries out for healing – God, bring your comforting presence. Where weakness and infirmity drain life a…
Times and Seasons - Poppies and snowdrops
Times and Seasons - Poppies and snowdrops
by Marjorie Dobson
Poppies and snowdrops A blood red symbol of the field of war, the poppy stands and bows its head before the wind that sweeps its petals to the skies, until the field is black and colour dies. A frail, white symbol of a winter passed, the snowdrop’s bud breaks through iron ground …
Times and Seasons - One hundred years ago
Times and Seasons - One hundred years ago
by Marjorie Dobson
One hundred years ago How brave they were, they thought, one hundred years ago. Enthusiastic, full of zeal and ready for the sport, one hundred years ago, they thought. How cheerfully they went, one hundred years ago, as town and village sent their companies of pals hell-bent for…
Come to join the worship
Come to join the worship
by Marjorie Dobson
Come to join the worship, singing with one voice. Come to join the people gathered here by choice. Come to share God’s glory. Come to sing in praise. Come to join that story written through our days. Come with all our problems: constant strain and stress; bringing our temptations…
Failure–Reflection on John 1:29-42
Failure–Reflection on John 1:29-42
by Marjorie Dobson
Failure – Reflection on John 1:29-42 If John had decided not to take on the role of Baptist, there would have been no noisy wilderness prophet to gaze at in amazement and to challenge supposedly God-fearing folk about lifestyle and commitment. Who would have baptised Jesus then a…
Times and Seasons - Poem: Mary’s joy
Times and Seasons - Poem: Mary’s joy
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Mary’s joy For the first time I can walk with pride. At home too many people turn their backs, whisper behind their hands, gossip my shame in their doorways and pull their children to safety for fear of contamination. Continues... ©Marjorie Dobson Luke 1:46b-55
Times and Seasons - Mary’s visit to Elizabeth
Times and Seasons - Mary’s visit to Elizabeth
by Marjorie Dobson
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth When Mary arrived she looked worn out. The journey was bound to be tiring in her condition and I know she’d not been having an easy time in her home town and with her gossiping neighbours. But as I saw her approaching I could feel the excitement building…
Times and Seasons - Expectation
Times and Seasons - Expectation
by Marjorie Dobson
Expectation That first faint fluttering of movement seems so insignificant that it can be dismissed as imagination. As the days pass and the growing continues and the stirring becomes stronger, then the realisation dawns that new life is beginning to make its presence felt. Conti…
Times and Seasons - Strange choices