Exodus: A Poem of Salvation

Hannah Stewart March 21, 2016

EDITOR’S NOTE: God gives each and every person specific gifts in order to demonstrate who He is and bring Him glory. Through Hannah, He has given her the gift of poetry and writing. Here is her testimony in the form of a beautiful poem.

Exodus

The call of the void once drew me so near,

the inner torment was all too much for me to bear.

I clutched and clawed at the hopes of my dreams,

but instead I was left to watch it fall apart at the seams.

I cried out to whatever was out there in the Universe,

“Make me better in a month, or I’ll end up in a hearse!”

I felt my life slowly slip away as I carried all of my hurt,

I thought how much easier it would be if I just laid down in the dirt.

But then a curious thought popped into my head,

one of which exceeded my longing to be dead.

I thought if happiness is unachievable, then life is a lie,

and yet here I stand underneath the galactic sky.

I have the Earth at my feet, and in my heart I am a child,

to find what makes me happy, I must go into the wild.

I rid myself of belongings; a suitcase my life became,

my friends knew that should I return, I wouldn’t be the same.

They bid me farewell and some tears were shared,

it was then I knew that these people, about me, they truly cared.

I left with emptiness in my heart and fear in my mind;

there was no guarantee of any happiness I would find.

The first stop, a small place with people unknown,

however so, I felt like I had come home.

The mountains and the sea: they captivated me,

in such a way a glimpse of hope had come to be.

But with this hole in my heart still hadn’t been filled,

that was when some people came with some truth to be spilled.

They told me of the One who walked this Earth, but is now more than a man,

the One who is also the Spirit, and is called the great I Am.

They said “If you let him in, He can heal all your pain,

for He is the Creator, a great phenomenon we cannot explain.”

At first I was reluctant to seek Him, for then I only knew of the dark,

but when I tested Him upon His existence, the epiphany was that of a spark.

My God, He is so real, so very real,

and that is the truth that the enemy cannot steal.

Never mind he stole my whole life before,

for what I have gained with God now, is so much more.

For I asked God to fill my heart that had a hole,

not only did He do just that, He now satisfies my soul.

Into the wild I went, and happiness I have found,

for my fears and wish for death are gone, I am now unbound.

The call of the void once drew me so near,

but being in the presence of my God is why I’m still here.

Hannah Stewart

I (Hannah Stewart) was born in Wellington, New Zealand and raised in a Catholic family. We were raised in New Zealand until I was 10 years old and moved to Germany - where the "big downfall" began. I was bullied at school and ended up isolating myself into my bedroom, only ever coming out when I had to. I stayed that way for many years to come, even after we moved back to New Zealand. In that time I isolated myself I became an atheist and an antitheist, I also became severely depressed and suicidal. I fought on through the mental illness until it finally took it's toll on me, which is when I met God. I now live in the small town of Kaikoura, New Zealand. Where I spend my days working and blogging, and reaching out to other people with mental illness issues, and try to share with them how God can heal them.

https://greenandorangebutterflyproject.wordpress.com/