“A Corrected Point Of View” [Spanish and Photography Series]

I had not seen – “It’s upside down for all –
Our languages – been that way since the fall”;
I thought, “They are for man; we can converse
With God we know – I now see, it’s reverse –

Our languages, entwined in cultures fair,
Enable talk with God – who shows His care
To each and all in ways each understands –
In languages and cultures of the lands.

I started out with language-learning scheme –
(Ingenious! he’d been where we have been) –
“You’re scared to enter cultures not your own;
So hide alone – ‘first-person’ is your home.

“So start with that, and learn the words you’ll use,
There, by yourself – you’ve nothing there to lose;
Then venture out – next, one-on-one’s the way
You talk with other folks from day to day.

That worked out fine, until I hit stage two;
Then “Power” emerged – it does when “I’m” with “you” –
Third culture kid, from Echo-land – that’s me –
Things I won’t say (directing you to be –

The person I think you should be each day;
Or how to live your life) – I will not say
Those things in English, Cree, or Spanish tongue;
So ways to do so, stopped ’fore they’d begun.

Of course, some others talk that way – that’s fine –
But attitude-to-life I speak, is mine;
Say what you will, you’re free within this land;
But so am I – I won’t, you understand.

I turned in prayer to You, Lord, “What’s amiss?
I need Your help, if I’m to issue fix.”
You said, “That’s simple – I’m the ‘two’ you seek;
Just Me and you – Our power-dynamic’s sweet.”

That’s when I saw reversal was at stake –
Spanish is God’s, in which we can partake
In dialogue with Him; use words as well
To speak with other folks – use words to tell –

Of what we think, and see, and hope for most;
We’re guests on earth, Creator-God is host;
Just like the rest of life, we’d seized, and said,
“Linguistic tools are our ways to be fed”.

The Babel-gift confuses speech with man,
But not with God – with languages we can
Share well with God our ways, from culture’s scene;
And guided be by Him, as all have been.

I looked again at “Stage two” lessons there;
It opened up, for power He has for care
Is His to wield; our freedom is intact,
To come or go, as Eden showed as fact.

Lord, that’s so cool! It elevates each man
And woman too – to Kingdom-layer to stand,
Not as puffed up, but sanctified by Thee,
Above all else, brought low at Eden’s tree.

We use each language You have handed out,
To chat with others, new worlds bring about –
“Creative words”, “Made in your image” here –
I see at last, “Your word’s expressed” – that’s clear.

Lord, now I’m looking forward to the rest
Of Spanish tongue – see what can be expressed
To You; with You; from You – with others too;
Lord, thanks for this corrected point of view.

Thanks Lord for this.

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