Warming Grace

 

Have you been touched

by the warming grace

that glows briefly

within your grateful heart?

Have you experienced

end of the day contentment

that accompanies 

your gratitude?

Be aware and prepared

for it to happen again,

as you accept

your inherited blessings.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Home Fields - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Acceptance II

 

As time seems to accelerate

in these older years,

my attachment to life

has strengthened.

Of course there is

a sense of aching in my heart,

like things could start

to unravel in the next ten years.

However, at seventy-eight,

my current grip on life

feels firm and confident,

like when I'm lifting weights.

Or running wooded trails, or the beach.

Or playing tennis and pickleball.

Or swimming in the ocean.

Or hiking in the mountains.

Or photographing nature

all over this beautiful country.

Or Writing outdoors 

in numerous locations.

A working combination of

adaptability, and perseverance.

Acceptance and gratitude

for my abundant blessings.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Acceptance" - October 23, 2023

Photo Locations:

1. Canyonlands National Park - Utah

2. Kauapea Beach - Kauai, Hawaii (12-22-05)

3. Angels Landing Trail - Zion National Park - Utah

4. White Sands National Park - New Mexico

5. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

Willing Witness

 

If I should ever be summoned,

I would be a willing witness.

When placed on the stand,

I would raise my right hand,

and swear to tell the truth,

and the whole truth,

so God would help me recall

the multiple miracles of creation

that I've witnessed outdoors

during my life of abundant blessings.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. SaddleBrooke, Arizona 

Place

 

I have so much space

out here in the quiet country.

Over ten acres of our own woods

to walk, to explore, to learn.

Sometimes during my walks,

I just stop and contemplate

the blessings of this experience.

Each season provides a reason

to get outside and love this place.

I'm learning to listen better.

Not just to our loyal birds,

that I truly love,

but also listening to the quiet.

A privileged pleasure

that I always treasure.

I promise to take care of this space

and to share what I learn with grace,

until I can no longer roam,

and I'm brought back home;

returned to my starting place.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. & 7. All photographed in our Home Woods.

Canyon Prayer

 

When the Canyon Wren

hurls its song into the air,

in the echoing space

between sandstone walls,

it sounds like a prayer,

a praise song,

a blessing heard

but not seen.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Garden of the Gods Park - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Here

 

Here;

under the magnificent dome

of a sky-blue sky.

Here, where the slightly curved horizon

meets the broad sweep of ocean.

I admire bands of blue;

aquamarine watercolors

changing by the hour.

Sweeping toward

the shore I'm standing on.

Blessed and grateful

to be present here.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Garden of Words

 

You were always blessed

with the gift of awareness,

and you nourished it

with devoted attention.

Growing your garden

with a choice selection

of solemn, suitable words,

placed in warm, welcome soil.

Now, patience,

now emergence,

now blossom,

now fruition.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Song of Our Lives

 

The river of time flows endlessly,

carries the song of our lives in our place.

Will you sing of the blessings

you've been granted through grace?

Will the list be so long

that your complaining is replaced

with gratitude for life, and 

precious time in your space?

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Columbia River - Hood River, Oregon

3. & 4. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan

Worthy

 

Harvesting these

seasons of the year,

the years of this life.

Standing at the edge of time,

watching the broad horizon,

grateful for abundant blessings.

Seeking deeper spiritual perception

by listening for the voice of God

in the wind, in the waves.

Praying for inspiration

from the Holy Spirit

to make these words

worthy to be read.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Acadia, Michigan

2. & 3. Grand Haven State Park - Grand Haven, Michigan

Long Road

 in memory of Aaron Havenga (April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994)

The long pain of grief

cannot be ignored,

but after twenty-nine years,

it can be absorbed;

endured by a gracious heart

and a long life of gratitude

for continued blessings

down this long road

I did not choose.

I no longer wander around

like a lost child, but

walk forward firmly in faith,

powered by a brave heart.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Centennial, Wyoming

Chalice of Praise

Oh, the abundant blessings of my woods.

Especially during the green fire of spring.

When new Trout Lilies at my feet

uncurl their curved yellow fingers.

And in the near distance,

hidden in the gray branches,

the loyal Wood Thrush

pours out  his musical song.

Liquid notes spilling

into the understory,

filling a chalice of praise.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Feels Like

 

After the sun sets

behind the mountains,

as dusk gradually arrives,

there is a slight breeze

that rolls softly

down the shoulders

of the foothills.

It feels like

a prayer of gratitude

to finish this blessed day.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Moran, Wyoming (with the Grand Tetons peeking through)

Watching Waiting Writing

 

I'm watching the long light of evening

spreading warmly across the clouds,

watching these words spreading warmly

across the long lines of this page.

Waiting for inspiration to arrive.

Working to reveal surrounding blessings.

Writing to share the miracles in nature.

Willing to live a life of profound attention.

Wanting just a little more time.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Big Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Still 3

 

I am still listening

to wind and rivers

as they each speak

in their unique

languages.

I am still watching the clouds

as they beautify the sky,

and the rain, as it moistens

the thirsty

land.

I am still aging,

but growing in patience,

accepting the reasons for seasons

and the passage of

time.

I am still living a life

of profound attention.

Working to reveal the blessings

that surround me.

Writing, to share the miracles

in nature.

Waiting for more inspiration

to come.

Watching the long light of evening

spreading across the landscape,

and these words

spreading across long lines of the page.

Enjoying this small segment of time,

still wanting just a little more. 

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Swan Valley, Idaho

2. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Alamosa, Colorado

4. Ada Dam - Ada, Michigan

Passing Seasons

This spring and summer have passed too quickly.

I missed entirely the hidden, drooping blossoms 
of the Mayapple.

When did the Wild Columbines display
their scarlet crowns adorned with yellow?

Wild Black Raspberries have already ripened,
with Dewberries and Wild Blackberries soon to follow.

Queen Anne's Lace is thriving
along roadsides and abandoned fields.

I do not want the summer's end
to bring on the goldenrods and asters.

It will mean the approach of autumn,
and remind me of too much time
spent reading books and writing
about opportunities lost;
when I should have been
out walking everyday
in fields and woods,
along rivers and streams,
and feeling grateful for
these daily blessings
that make up the seasons
of my life. 

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. & 5. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Basket of Birdsong

My ears are filled
with a basket of birdsong.

Each one a blessing
in this place where I belong.

Spring warblers
hidden in the sheltering trees.

An angelic choir
carried on the morning breeze.

These precious moments
I will always savor,

and thank God daily
for His special favor.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Book of Songs" ~ April 17, 2017

Photo Locations:

1. Red-eyed Vireo - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Gray Catbird - Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

3. Bay-breasted Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Yellow Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan