TOBY
There once was a child whose name was Toby,
Who loved to play dice and hang with the O.Gs
See, Toby wasn't a school kid but a cool kid,
He was a charmer, more handsome than Cupid.
He could get girls on a whim and leave them feeling stupid.
Toby was a smoker and heavy on drugs;
This is how you're supposed to live when you hang with thugs.
Toby only had his surviving mother;
His father was a drug abuser whose life was smothered.
He was found gunned down on the street by his now jailed brother.
His mother had devoted herself to the work of God;
Toby, on the other hand, was an atheist who saw Christianity as a facade:
A man-made religion with a punishment of the rod.
Toby always hated when his mother would speak about Christ.
To him, she was a brainwashed woman who had been enticed.
Sometimes he'd walk out of the house before she began to speak;
To him, Christianity was only meant for the weak.
Because if God were real and fair, He wouldn't allow the innocent to suffer;
There would be peace in the world instead of life growing tougher.
The streets were where Toby spent most of his time.
At home, he never spoke a single word; he acted like a mime.
It wasn't until the age of 18 that life became even worse.
His mother was hit by a car while trying to put the car in reverse.
The collision left her on a respirator machine,
A fragile thread of life and death caught in between.
But God is a loving God who never forgets His own.
While Toby sat in the hospital, crying and alone,
There came a nurse.
She took a little KJV Bible from her purse
And said, "I need us to read just one verse."
That verse was found in Isaiah 53:5.
She read it aloud and spoke to his mother's body to revive.
Soon his mother's hands and feet came to life.
She immediately began to speak.
Toby stood frozen from his head to his toes,
Watching his mother's feet touch the ground as she arose.
Toby fell down on his knees,
With uplifted hands, he began to cry,
Crying out for mercy as he looked up to the sky.
His mother came over to him
And placed her hands upon his head,
Then said in a gentle voice:
"Do not weep, my son, but praise God instead.
You looked for God in a world of perfect peace,
Waiting for all the pain and suffering to cease.
But He is not a King who sits far above the sky,
Untouched by the tears that fall from your eye.
He is the broken Man who took the heavy rod,
The One who bleeds with us—that is the true God.
He walked the darkest streets; He felt the sinner's shame,
And bore the deepest wounds just to call your name.
He doesn't shield our lives from every bitter storm,
But steps into the fire to keep our spirits warm.
You see His power now in this restored breath,
But He was closest to you when you feared my death.
Look past the rituals and the human pride;
He is the constant Love walking by your side."
SORRY FOR THE LONG POEM BUT AFTER I WAS DONE PRAYING I FELT INSPIRED TO SHARE THIS. BEFORE I COULD GO PRAY ONLY THE FIRST TWO LINES CAME TO ME. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!
D