I was a young and tender shoot
Hugging my mother, reaching for the sky.
And you crushed me under your foot
Grinding my face in the dust and the rocks.

Afraid I dug my roots deeper and grew a different way.
And I survived

I was a willowy sapling
Dancing with joy, the wind in my hair.
And you bent me and stripped me
Twisting and tearing 'til the sap flowed free.

In pain I thrust deeper still and grew a different way.
And I survived.

I was a young tree
Growing tall, claiming my place in the sun.
And you cut me down
Tearing at my flesh 'til I could stand no more.

But my roots remained and I grew a whole new way.
And I survived.

And now my roots have found the hidden stream
The rock that anchors, the cleft that hides.
I tower high above you, arms upraised to the heavens.
Not as I could have been, not as I should have been
Yet clothed in beauty with a graceful strength.

I look around and you are but dust in the wind
But I ... I survive.

D.J. Ludlow (From the "Life Lines" Anthology

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"The Survivor" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 1996

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa