Two Poems

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

When I was alone
          You made me know the love of my friends;
When I was cold
          You gave me your warmth;
When I was angry
          You sat down and listened to me;
When I was disappointed
          You brought to me Your hope;
When I fell down
          You picked me up;
Every moment, everywhere,
          You are always with me.

The love of You, now I know;
          it is the smiles of the children,
          it is the hands of my friends that helped me to stand up,
          it is the arms that embraced me when I was sad,
          it is my friends who always walk with me,
          it is my family where I can go back to every time.
Your love is everywhere I go,
                   everyone I meet,
                   everything I do,
                   every moment I spend.

Thank you for Your love;
          because of Your love,
          I want to give love to others,
                     to help others feel Your love in them.
And I know I can’t do it alone,
                  I need the help of others,
                  I need my friends and I need You.
I want to share what happened to me,
                          what changed in me,
           to help the youth to know
                      who You are and what You do,
           to bring You closer to them.

Lord, You are the Love of my life,
                      the Way I should go,
                      the Truth I should speak,
                      the Light I should shine.
Lead me in my mission
        to be a witness to others
                 through my daily life.

I NEED YOU, LORD

Sometimes I was excited
          with the new things
          that I discovered;
          I wanted to do many things.
And I was tired.
          I called God
                    and got angry with Him;
          I asked Him
                    why I have to do all.
          But I forgot
                    it was my choice,
                    I did not listen to Him.
I focused on what I wanted to do;
I forgot God.
I forgot He walked with me,
              He talked with me.
But I did not see Him,
      I did not hear Him.
I was confident in what I did,
          I thought everything I did for God.
But I did not know
          when I forgot God’s presence,
          I did for myself
                    more than I did for God.
I was proud of myself.

Now I think
          I have to stop,
          go down to take the time
          to feel and look at
                    the life around slowly,
          to see both sides of the situation,
          to find out the needs
                    of the people
                              and of God.

Yes, Lord,
          I need to stop,
          I need to go back,
          I need You to lead me,
                     You to teach me how to do.
          From that I will do my mission
                    with You and through Your Name.

Mary Thanh Thao, from Vietnam, belonged to Batch 4 of the Basic Formation Program of IFFAsia. She is currently a junior trainer of the Eucharistic Youth Movement, at the same time working at the Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh. The poems she wrote were the fruits of her reflection during her maranatha retreat in 2010.