Attendees wrote this collection of poems at our online Advent retreat ‘Come As You Are’ on 29th November 2025. The day created space for acknowledging the unique experience of disabled Christians, waiting in hope, and knowing God with them.
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Waiting with God… (Inspired by Zechariah)
by Emma Major
In temple smoke the angel bright
Did speak a word of pure delight.
To Zechariah meek and old
A promise of a son foretold
But doubt arose within his breast
“She can’t conceive she’s past her best”
The angel said, though quite forlorn
“Your speech is bound until he’s born”
Through months of silence waiting long
He could not speak or sing a song
Then John was born, a baby new
And Zechariah spoke anew
With voice released his praise began
Blessing woman, child and man
The muted tongue now spoke in grace
To honour God in every place
“Praise be to God,” he sang with glee
“A child to love, a legacy.”
From silence came his song divine
His faith now bright as stars that shine
Perhaps this was a gift of love
To be closer to our God above
I know that when I wait and hear
God sits close by drawing me near
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The Sea
by Rachel Frost
The sea washes in, the sea washes out
Sometimes it’s wild, sometimes it’s calm
Only the Creator knows why.
It has it’s own rhythm
Drawing in, coming away
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow
Only the Creator knows why.
Sometimes we wait a long time for the tide to come in
Sometimes it’s as if it never went out
We are left watching and waiting
Only the Creator knows why.
We watch on
Intrigued
Present
For our Creator is with us.
I’ve found myself reflecting on how there is a rhythm to watching and waiting, much like there is to the sea. It cannot be hurried, it goes at its own pace, which in one sense brings an element of mystery to it. And yet, what anchors us is that God our Creator enters into that rhythm and into that mystery of the watching and waiting with us whilst also knowing what is to come.
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Broken yet Holy
by Em Lifford
I’m broken yet holy, still held in His hands,
A soul full of fractures He lovingly spans.
For Jesus knows scars—He has carried them too,
And walks with the wounded in all that we do.
In splinters and shadows, His light finds a way,
To whisper His healing through night into day.
Our cracks let Him shimmer, His love gently streams,
A glow in the ruin, the Truth in our seams.
We carry Him with us—imperfect, yet known,
A vessel of mercy, not polished, but grown.
For God shapes the broken, redeems every part,
And dwells in the chambers of each aching heart.
So here in our weakness, His grace is our song—
A beauty He builds where the shattered belong.
And wholly imperfect, we rise in His care—
Still broken, yet holy… for He meets us there.
This has been created from my own view that my body feels broken and shattered but I am also holy and whole. I included the pebble in the picture is because sometimes when we feel so broken,we feel out prayers don’t matter. The stars represent the glimmers and answered prayer. The clear blobs in the darkness represent the prayers where we don’t see and answer but it doesn’t take away from the fact that something shifts in the spiritual. Just like the black pebble is being transformed one dot / star at a time.
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What If …
by Anderson Marsh
What if my words had meaning
What if my words were heard
What if my inability could be an ability
The shame of self, hidden, could cocoon into transformation
What if God heard me
What if God cried and said I know!