Course Report: Express the Psalms Within You
【KRC Trends】1
At 6:00 pm Eastern Time on June 3, 2023, writer, poet, and former executive editor of "Kingdom of God" magazine Teacher Li Wenping had a "poetic date" with students from North America and Asia. . Teacher Wen Ping analyzed from the Psalms written by David how poems can help us establish a calm and honest relationship with God, and also expand the depth of our faith through the poems.
When it comes to Psalms, what most people always think of are the author's praise and thanksgiving to God, prayers and requests for help, declarations and confessions. When reading Psalms, favorite or classic verses often become the prayers in their hearts. But I rarely think that you and I can be like David. When we are helpless, when we are being chased, when we are happy, when we are grateful and praising, when we are praying for forgiveness, we can use poetry to communicate with God and express our thoughts.
Teacher Wenping shared examples from poems to remind everyone that to express their hearts, they must first be honest with themselves. Since God is our first reader (or the only reader), then we should put aside the framework that we thought poetry should have in the past, and describe what we think and feel in our hearts honestly, humbly, and without fear in poetry. .
Why use poetry to record? The poem is shorter than the article, but the concise text brings out the thought-provoking artistic conception. In course groups, students share their experiences with each other and practice on the spot. With teacher Wen Ping's explanation and encouragement, everyone was thinking and creating at the same time. They were surprised that "expressing poems from the heart" to God was not as difficult as they imagined. The more they thought and deliberated, the more they could bring out from the words. Rich imagery.
The four-hour course flew by unknowingly during the discussion, learning and creation. After class, I believe that all students’ minds are still filled with the artistic conception of poetry; the artistic conception can take us to green grassland and to the waterside where we can rest. As teacher Wen Ping said: "Let poetry fill the process of your life, and let poetry become a step by step, closer to the sacred."
I hope more people will sign up for the next course, so that we can follow the lines of poetry and enter abundance.
【Student creation】
If you think it's beautiful
Lord! What kind of brocade do you want me to weave?
What kind of beautiful song can you play?
The machine is broken, the strings are cracked
Why, I don’t know why
What kind of water have you put me by?
What kind of waves to embrace
Mirror without trace, undercurrent surges
How, I don’t know how
O Lord above the thick clouds!
I behold the wonder of your hands
Unnamed little wildflowers on the roadside
Countless stars in the night sky
like notes dancing on a sheet of music
They leisurely do not ask where they come from
Like a rock, don’t ask about the fate of the sand
My heart beats, but it’s also silent
I am safe at the break, at the edge of the rapids
Let your wind blow, let your hands caress
You who are the wisest, if you think it is beautiful
The machine rings again, and the brocade and silk are woven again
The strings and strings come together again, and a new beautiful song is played
The waves embrace each other, the ripples are gentle
∼Bai Xiang'er