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FLOATING GENTLY ON THE WIND It snowed again, last night Falling gently on the wind Touching every particle of ground Spreading loveliness all around and Claiming redemption for my hometown Perhaps one day we shall see Our Savior face to face As our dreaded sins turn to snow Until such time, O Lord, We wait for thee (Written on February 11, 2019, with revisions made on February 29, 2020)
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ISAIAH 49:8,9 10 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee And in a day of salvation have I helped thee I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth to cause to inherit the desolate heritages That thou mayest say to the prisoners Go forth To them that are in darkness Shew yourselves They shall feed in the ways and their pastures shall be in all high places They shall not hunger or thirst Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them Even by the springs of water shall he guide them THE WINTER WRITER 588 O season of the blustery snow And of the rain, the storm, the gale We welcome thee without any fright As the temperature freezing all below Invites us to write, and to write again Of seasons past Of warmer days bereft of snow We sense tis quite all right To extol the virtues of winter The months of shorter days Followed by days of longer nights Invite us to write, and to write again Regardless of the chilly weather Give us paper. Give us pen. Sit us at our desk and then Let us enjoy, let us delight As these windy, wintry days Invite us to write, and to write again (First published on February 15, 1979. Revisions made on February 26, 2020) GRADUATION 2020 Whether it be from high school or from a university, graduation is, indeed, a laudable accomplishment. But, as most graduates soon realize, a degree is seldom an end-all, be-all proposition. Rather, graduation is the tying of a knot in our rope of life.The graduation knot much more signifies a beginning than an ending;a graduation toward something as opposed to a gradution from something. It is impossible to change "the way we were," but the possibities for change towared "what we shall become," are infinite. We can only expect to live in the present as we rush toward the future. The past is past. With these thoughts in mind, perhaps gravitation, in the long run, becomes more significant than graduation. (First Posted in May, 2013) WIDE ENOUGH 284 Wrote Lawrence Stern, an 18th Century clergyman, "This world surely is wide enough to hold both thee and me." Indeed, there is plenty of room on this earth... For diversity For unity For every color For every creed For disagreement For compromise For old truths For new insights For giving For living The shortages on this earth exist not because of "the lack of space" as some would contend. Rather, our deficiencies are primarily due to a scantness of Spirit in the hearts of men. Wide enough, wide enough, yes, this world is wide enough for both thee and me. (First posted on November 11, 2012) IF YOU ARE LONELY 533 We're fortunate right now. We have a good friend in our church that affects our life in a very supportive and calming way. (Actually, we associate with several members who help us in this regard. But perhaps, at this point in time, this one brother's positive influence stands out more than others.) If you are presently going to church and find it a rather lonely, non-comforting place, we think it would not be wrong to ask God to send that someone into your life who would might be able to comfort and sustain you. We believe, given time, that our Heavenly Father will just do that for you. For He has done it for us. For those, who are alone or lonely, rest assured, God is aware of you and your plight. And even now, He is acting on your behalf. He is moving people into your life to benefit you. God cares about you. (First published on October 1, 1978 #53 with revisions made on February 18, 2020) DEALING IN SUNSHINE 620 An anonymous writer has given us these lines... People who deal in sunshine Are the ones who draw the crowds They always do more business Than those who peddle clouds. It would be wonderful if we could say that we always deal in the sunshine market. Unfortunately this is just not true. Life has shown us, over and over again, the pain which often accrues from cloud peddling. And yet, we still persist in it. If ever there was a need in our lives, Heavenly Father, it would be this... to be continuous sunshine dealers. (Originally published on May 17, 1979, with revisions made on February 18,2020) PROVERBS 1:8,9 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck CHRIST IS MY SHIELD AND ARMOUR HE IS MY TRUMPET CALL HE HELPS ME FIGHT MY BATTLES AND BE VICTOR OVER ALL CHRIST IS MY PRIDE AND POWER HE IS MY LIBERTY HE OVERCAME THE CHAINS OF SIN AND GAVE NEW LIFE TO ME CHRIST MARCHES ON BEFORE ME AND THIS I SURELY KNOW WHERE 'ERE HE CARES TO LEAD ME MOST GLADLY WILL I GO 'MID TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS I DARE NOT SHUN THE FIGHT FOR THE LORD DOTH LEAD ME ONWARD WITH HIS SWORD OF TRUTH AND RIGHT (THIS WAS MY FIRST POEM. THE FIRST THREE VERSES WERE WRITTEN IN THE SUMMER OF 1963. THE LAST VERSE WAS ADDED IN THE FALL OF 1963.) HUMDRUM HEROES 619
We are presently reading the works of Tolkien in which the heroes are magnificent and the villains are horrendous. And while it might be enjoyable to dream of conquering and defeating those darkened shadows of another world, we suspect that we live among and daily meet many unsung and unheralded heroes of the daily humdrum. To constantly, work at a job that is laborious and tiresome year after year, to feed and clothe loved ones.... takes a hero of a special kind. To continually prepare meals and to keep our homes comfortable and clean while tending young ones day in and day out, merits the medal of honor for the humdrum heroes of our society. Today and always, we gratefully honor and salute any and all of the unknown, unnamed heroes of the humdrum who constantly enrich our lives. (First published on May 15, 1979. Revisions made on February 11, 2020.) |
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