I can't make you love Him if you don't

can't strike a match

to cause your heart to blaze

at the mention of His Name

can't cause you to tremble

as I tremble

before His holiness

can't jumpstart love

from the outside in

It only happens from the inside out

No matter how much I love you

loving Him

is not something you can get from me

like a cup of mulled cider or a hug

not something you can inherit

like good genes, strong teeth or curly hair

not something I can demonstrate

like how to knead dough or rhyme couplets

nor is it something I can gift-wrap

tie with a crimson ribbon

and give you to make you happy

No, all I can do is tell the old, old story

about His beauty, as I perceive it

His mercy, as I've experienced it

His wonders and His love

All I can do is hope, pray

and wait

Truth will not impose

Truth waits to be sought

Answers wait for age-old questions

The Door waits for your knock

When He opens

you'll find He's been expecting you

already loving you

No, I can't make it easy, although it can be

I embarked on my quest; you'll embark on yours

No, I can't make you love Him if you don't

but should your quest lead you to His heart

I'll be waiting, like the One inside the Door

to dance in the glow of His grandeur with you

Maude Carolan Pych is a former newspaper reporter who now writes Christian inspirational poetry and poems to record family history. She leads the Paper, Pen & Praise ministry at her congregation and publishes It's All About...THE LAMB quarterly on her blog. Her newest chapbooks are A Pilgrim's Quest--A Poet Visits the Holy Land, From My Heart to Yours at Christmas--Cookies & Poems, and The Widow's Song. A mom and grandmom, she resides in the Garden State with her husband, Robert and worships at Beth Israel Messianic Center, Wayne, where she serve as a deaconess.