"Burning Bush"

I was a long way from the home corrals,

And found a place to camp,

The night was cool and breezy,

A storm had left things damp.

Took awhile to build my fire,

And get my coffee hot,

That and saltine crackers,

Was all the meal I got.

I thought about my granny,

As in my bedroll lay,

The stories that she told me,

And all she had to say.

Only one I ever knew,

God’s burning bush she saw,

Just like the prophet Moses,

The one who gave the Law.

She saw it from a buggy,

That my grandaddy drove,

On the way to that brush arbor,

Where the preacher spit and dove,

Down amongst the people,

And the altar call he gave,

But it was on the way that night,

That Granny Welch was saved.

Then looked like my fire,

It roared up with a start,

I looked into its flaming,

And the Lord tugged at my heart.

For there were many angels,

A-spinning in the flame,

Praising God Almighty,

And “I AM” was His name.

I cried out when I saw it,

My eyes were filled with tears,

I hadn’t really called on Him,

In many, many years.

But that night I found Jesus,

Or better- He found me,

Watching that old campfire,

His Spirit set me free.

Next morning I awakened,

Same as days before,

The embers were still smoking,

As if they burned some more.

And as I rose and saddled,

I wondered right out loud,

If I had dreamed the vision,

Or saw it, I allowed.

It really doesn’t matter,

‘Cause I’m changed anyway,

And that was when it happened,

It was my saving day.

Don’t care if you believe it,

Some doubted granny, too,

But when you do receive it,

You will know it’s true.

“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away…” (2 Cor. 3:16, NLT)

Paul speaks of a “veil” that keeps us from seeing God’s truth and receiving it. When someone turns to the Lord, however, the veil is removed and their spiritual blindness is healed. This poem is based upon the testimony of my own grandmother, who testified that she saw a burning bush on the night she accepted Jesus. In her case, she saw something that others did not see, and she believed it was because the Lord wanted her to see it. Paul says that the Spirit of the Lord will liberate us and transform our lives so that we can be more and more like Jesus. But this is only possible if our spiritual blindness has been healed.

Lord, heal us and help us to see, in Jesus’ name.

Art by JaNeil Anderson, janeilanderson.com. Used by permission. Thanks, JaNeil, and God bless you.