Natalia Scheglova, by day, is a teacher of religious subjects at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s seminary here, leading students through the New Testament, its exegesis as well as the study of the Greek language.

In her spare time—since she was just about two years old—Scheglova writes poetry and children’s books. Two volumes of her poems have been published and distributed; a short documentary about her life produced by Three Angels Broadcasting in Ukraine won a major award at a national film festival.

“Without faith there would be no poetry,” Scheglova said in an interview with ANN. “God is the greatest Poet and He shares this ability with people. My faith is expressed not only through theme or through words but also through the mood which is behind the verses.”

She adds, “I like when images and connotations are working together in creating the sense and ‘the fragrance’ of the poem touching both the mind and the feeling. I pray the verses I write would help people to feel God’s presence so calming and pure which can relieve and heal their pain.”

Such healings are not uncommon: Scheglova reports that “several years ago, a young musician came to visit me and said he was an unbeliever and hated life; he planned to commit suicide. Somebody gave him my book, and two hours later he was a new man. Now, he preaches the gospel on television.”

Others have expressed similar stories, Scheglova says, including a young woman who had prepared a rope for her own hanging, then remembered the poetry given her and said the Lord spoke to her through those verses.

“Some people were inspired to compose music on texts from both volumes and as a result we have several dozen songs,” from her verses, Scheglova says. “Russian people are sensitive to poetry and I appreciate their love very much.”

The educator/poet says that she uses an indirect approach to present religious themes in some poems, such as representing Jesus as the only “sane” inmate at an asylum, the asylum representing Earth.

“The main subjects of my poems are freedom, perception of God’s presence, the earth life of Jesus, heroes of the Bible, relationship, the history and the beauty of my own country Russia,” she says. “In another poem, the crucifixion is depicted as [Jesus’] ascension to the throne [in heaven]. And, in a poem about the meeting of Samson and Delilah, she moves the columns in the temple of Samson’s faith, and he becomes blind,” she adds, paralleling the latter end of the Biblical hero.

“The poems I write are oriented to an unbeliever’s rebellious mind, to thinking and deeply feeling people, to those who are in despair,” Scheglova adds. “I hope that reading verse by verse they would allow the Holy Spirit to touch their hearts. I hope that faith will be born in somebody’s soul because of the words that God helps me to find.”