Meet Stephen Todd Jones

As part of a "Blessing Tour" Disturbing Reviews has asked many of us to make posts for Stephen Todd Jones. There are many like him, so I am hoping that this will not be confined to just Stephen, but any Christians out there who are facing hardships will find encouragement in these posts. - David Brollier

Stephen Todd Jones is a writer and poet from Virginia Beach, Virginia.

While a sophomore at Liberty University, he sustained injuries in a car crash that left him in a wheelchair, and this perspective forms the basis for much of his writing. Through his poetry, he gives us a window into his world and his faith.

Why Not Internally?
By Stephen Todd Jones

Why do you not peer inside yourself,
Revealing what you see in review
As relates to the simple, yet complex
Matter that indeed is you;
Why do you not evaluate your own self
In light of that true indeed here
In order to best prognosticate what
Lies in an eventual year?
You may not like what you see inside,
Turning your gaze that way.
Oh, is that the reason behind avoidance
Of looking inside? Okay...
I see your reasoning though avoiding
That makes no less sure
The demons and devils, residing within,
As more than conjecture.

This unique poem points to a problem that a lot of us have. We can find the faults in others easily, but within ourselves, well that's something we aren't ready to deal with. The problem is what faults we find in others are usually those we have in ourselves, so we don't help matters, but make them worse. Plus, we avoid dealing with the problems (demons and devils as he puts it) in our own lives. Let's start to look inside, at our own hearts before we go about judging others.

In keeping with this poem I'd like each of us to wrestle with our own salvation, in fear and trembling, so that God may hear our broken heart and bring healing to our spirit, soul and body. I offer the following for Stephen, and all the other “Stephens” out there:

One step at a time,
I keep on walking.
One step at a time,
the road is long,
but I'll keep on walking,
one step at a time,
and it won't be long,
'til I find my way home.

This chorus to a song I wrote encourages us to walk in a victory we neither see nor feel, but one which we must struggle to maintain. I could give all these Bible verses about how we are healed by the blood of Jesus, but chances are you already know that. What is commonly left out is that we have to wage our own war through these trials to see these things come to pass in our lives. In the meantime, I want him and all those also struggling to know that there are many people praying with and for you. For they are going through the same things. Yet, all who have chosen Him as our Fortress, shall one day find ourselves standing before Him in His perfection, made holy by His precious blood. Until then, we press on towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

David Brollier