Power of Words

 

I believe in the power of words

to awaken our slumbering souls.

The inexpressible joy 

at the birth of your child.

The shattering, shocking blow

at the tragic loss of your child.

The depth of desire

in a sincere, meaningful love.

The loyal contentment

of a trustworthy marriage.

The dependable certainty

from a reliable faith.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

The Steeple of St. Patrick's

The congregation of devoted Christians 

filled this historic church.

They sang with exuberant voices,

exalting His name with praise.

Their passionate faith was unmistakeable

by any visitors who sat in the pews.

The majestic steeple of St. Patrick's

transported our praise and our prayers

through the blue vault of the sky

toward their heavenly destination.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: St. Patrick's Catholic Church ~ Parnell, Michigan

You may also enjoy:

"The Bells of St. Patrick's" - May 14, 2015

"The Steps of St. Patrick's" - November 6, 2017

"The Windows of St. Patrick's" - September 17, 2018

 

The Weight of Sorrow

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

At first,

when it happened,

the weight was so heavy

I could not lift it

off my chest;

the way it pushed

on my heavy heart.

But after thirty years

I've learned how to carry

the weight of sorrow.

Although I've aged,

my strength is greater,

the burden feels lighter,

my faith shines brighter.

Nineteen years of love was not enough,

but we will be together again.

Love, Dad

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Your Own Way

 

You can follow the path,

or make your own way,

proceeding with faith

that you're going

the right way.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Maroon Bells - Colorado

2. Estero, Florida

Hollow Hearts

 

You could read the anguish

in their empty eyes.

The stabbing pain of grief

penetrated deep into their hearts.

They felt abandoned and alone

in a barren desert,

deserted by the death of a loved one.

For years

of pointless days

and vacuous nights,

the inexplicable loss

lingered on the edge

of their depleted lives

as they carried the burden

of a suffering love.

But eventually,

with the gentle 

passage of time,

fortified by their faith,

by the comfort and support

of family and friends,

their hollow hearts

were filled with the peace

of understanding and acceptance.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Mud Matters Studio ~ Kimberlee Matheny ~ Ceramic Artist

                

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

the source

 

find the source of light

that illuminates your life

follow it with faith

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

New Connection

 

Listen to the whispered conversations

from the ambitious autumn leaves

as they prepare for departure

from their green summer home.

Letting go 

with faith

for the future.

A brief, graceful

dance with gravity,

then a new connection

with the nurturing earth.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Carrying Hope

Look.

Look at everything
placed along your path,
before your line of sight,
around you, surrounding you.

Escape from your home,
your work, 
your car,
your phone!

Enter the wild woods and fields.
For an hour, leave your touch-screen
and touch green leaves.

Feel the minute hairs on the leaf,
the serrated edge, the slender petiole
connected to the twig of the branch;
branching from the trunk
that broke through the soil --

(50 years before television),
(90 years before internet) --

as a tiny shoot;
carrying hope
through its vessels,
and flowing with faith
for the future.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Lowell Township - Kent County - Michigan

Foundation

The dark bones of the trees,
these tapered branches,
rattle in the breeze,
begin to flail as the 
relentless wind
pushes harder. 

Even the tall trunks,
solid at the base,
sway at their tops,
giving in,
accepting the will
of this storm
that cannot last.

Like the suffering
loss of a loved one,
the winds will 
eventually, recede.
The roots holding
a firm foundation
of faith. 

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2.  Minooka, Illinois

Slow Passage of Time

An ocean of sky
presses upon
this vast desert.

Surrounded by
a severe landscape,
I try to
adjust the meaning
of these lines.

Adapt to the slow
passage of time,
observe the patient
growth of cactus;
and the steady
growth of my faith.

Accept the slow
gift of time
being offered
as an invitation
to your creation.

Your long, 
slow silence
resonates
within my soul. 

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Saguaro National Park ~ West - Tucson, Arizona 

2. Joshua Tree National Park ~ Twentynine Palms, California

Touchstone

I am 
trying to hold
this moment
in time
with preserving words;

until you
can meet me here
just beyond the gate,
at this touchstone
of inspiration and faith,

where, upon reflection,
like water upon rock,
praise and gratitude meet
to become one. 

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Parnell, Michigan 

2. Yosemite National Park - California 

3. Santa Catalina Mountains - Tucson, Arizona

The Bells of St. Patrick's

Catholic girls from
St. Patrick School
pick lilacs from 
farmhouse yards,

then place them near the altar
with reverence and humility;
(and secret pride)
more meaningful than any
store-bought, flower-shop bouquet.

From this fragrant offering,
one small flower 
shaped like a tiny bell,
falls softly, silently,
next to the candles
that are reflected 
in the gold chalice.

These lilacs, fresh as 
a May morning,
are expressive of the love
these girls possess,
the love they profess 
in prayer
as they attend 
morning mass,

listening to
the bells of St. Patrick's,
waiting 
to receive the grace
they hoped for 
when they offered 
these living treasures
flowering in lavender.

Soon the same hands
that gave the gift
that flourished in the sun
will receive the bread of life,
the body of Christ, God's son
who flourished briefly on earth,
who continues to guide
these willing participants,
continues to bless their lives.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Twenty years later one of these girls
will receive a bouquet of 
lavender love from lilac bushes
planted by her husband,
now picked by her husband
from their farmhouse yard.

From inside the screen door,
on the back porch,
the young mother watches
her toddling daughter being 
guided through the grass,
holding in her little palm
the father's finger,
the living flesh.

Now he lifts his daughter 
into his arms, up high,
to smell the fragrance.
Her new church dress
the color of lilacs.

She cannot express
the joy she feels
in her little girl heart,
until she hears the bells
of St. Patrick's 
across the fields.

The child's laughter,
ringing across the fields, 
and inside her father's heart,
becomes a pure gift
for her father,
for her Father.

The mother,
watching silently
from the back porch,
holds this moment
deep in her heart.

Now, closing her eyes,
she inhales this fragrant offering
from her own table,
listens to the bells of St. Patrick's,
senses His presence,
still feels the reverence,
and the faith of her family.

As they prepare for church,
she imagines the altar
so many years ago
gifted with lilacs,
and is grateful
for the grace 
she was given.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: The Steps of St. Patrick's 

Photo Locations:

1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 12 : St. Patrick Church - Parnell, Michigan

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14 : Home/Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

9. Parnell, Michigan