The Arms of God

“Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we will call upon the Name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall down,
but we will arise and stand upright.”
- Psalm 20:7-8

El Río de los Brazos de Dios, the river that runs through Waco, TX, was named for its “arms” (brazos) by which God nourishes the land.

When I first took up my artist residency at Baylor University in the summer of 2023, a generous couple in town offered me their river cottage for one or two nights a week. I lived over 100 miles away, so I needed a place to stay when in Waco. I spent most mornings on the dock praying the Morning Office. The river and sunrise, my prayerbook and coffee—these were my primary sources for creative inspiration.

I would have expected academic buildings and books to bring about new songs and melodies. Surely, music composition would be my main creative outlet in this residency, just as it had been for the past thirty years. Instead, poetry poured out of me on the Brazos. The water helped me see the world differently, to engage with reality more physically. My learning and contemplation tends toward the abstract. The river grounded me in fresh, sensory ways, which I would need in order to grow into this new artistic vocation.

After I had written a handful of poems and shared them with my host, she asked if I’d ever consider writing a poem about the river itself. None of my poems up to that point, although inspired by the river, were about the river. They were mostly reflections on passages of Scripture. So, as an act of gratitude for the cottage, meditating on the strength of God’s brazos, and riffing on Psalm 20:7-8, I composed this poem.

The Arms of God
Some put their trust in artificial sources—
Synthetic imitation—to survive.
But we believe our innovative forces
Cannot sustain the earth in all its courses;
For only in God’s Arms can nature thrive.

The water brings abundance to the fields;
It cuts and curves at its Creator’s will.
Receive the fruitful harvest that it yields!
Perceive the mighty glory that it wields!
And praise the Maker’s Arms for perfect skill!

At sunrise blues and yellows strike the senses,
While fishes’ kisses greet the surface breeze.
In silence I surrender my defenses
And watch the Artist as the work commences;
In Beauty’s loving Arms I rest at ease.

So, come with me and sit beside the River.
Come drink it in and feel how mercy flows—
The peace of Christ the Spirit will deliver;
Refreshment from the Arms of God the Giver—
El Río de los Brazos de Dios.

Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there!
They will be satisfied by the beauty of your house,
by the holiness of your temple. …
Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at your marvelous signs;
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.