BOUNTEOUS HARVEST  218

                                          We are troubled on every side 
                                          Or so it would appear
                                          Yet we discern in the distant grey
                                          A golden dawn quietly drawing near

                                          Anxieties of the time press down
                                          Yet our misfortunes are easy to bear
                                          For we have a Father in Heaven
                                          Who listens to our humble prayer
 
                                          Every problem contains a hidden blessing
                                          We really have nothing to fear
                                          Clouds of darkness are now dispersing
                                          And God's plans are becoming clear

                                          With hope we look toward tomorrow
                                          With faith we cast away care
                                          Our burdens we leave far behind us
                                          And in the Lord's bounteous harvest,
                                          we'll share

                                          (First published on September 9,1976  .
                                          Slight revision made on August 31, 2019 )

                                         ISAIAH 59:18,19,20

                                              According to their deeds,
                                              accordingly will he repay,
                                              fury to his adversaries,
                                              recompense to his enemies,
                                              to the islands he will repay
                                              recompense. 

                                              So shall they fear the name
                                              the name of the Lord from
                                              the west, and his glory from
                                              the rising of the sun.
                                       
                                              When the enemy shall come in
                                              like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord
                                              shall lift up a standard against him.

                                              And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,
                                              and unto them that turn from transgression
                                              in Jacob, saith the Lord.

                                                 
                                                                       

 
                                                    A MILLION FRIENDS 599

                              Many years ago, in a large city,
                              there lived two brothers. As they grew,   
                              they were similar in many of their habits,
                              but their personalities became a study
                              in contrast.

                              Both young men gained in prominence, wealth,
                              and influence.

                              After living a long life, the first of the brothers died.
                              At his funeral, thousands attended and mourned
                              the loss of a great soul.
   
                              A few months later, the second brother died, and at
                              his funeral there were only three...the grave digger,
                              his dog, and me.
   
                              I asked that old sand shoveler why so many mourned
                              the loss of the first brother, while the second brother
                              was long forgotten before his death.

                              Said the digger, "I suspect it was a matter of insight and
                              outlook."

                              "The second brother felt that he had many enemies,
                              and as time wore on, he became more cynical,
                              and more bitter and more cautious and crafty...
​                              and left no friends behind."

                              "The first brother would have probably wound up
                              the same way, except that one evening, as a
                              young man, a life changing thought entered his mind."

                              "This was the thought...'I have a million friends...
                              and you are one of them."

                              "And from that evening on for the rest of his life,
                              this brother greeted friend and foe alike."

                              "And through the years, the number of his friends
                              grew and grew...while his foes seemed to drift away
                              as the early morning dews."
          
                              (First published on March 20, 1979. Revisions made
                              on August 25, 2019)

                                                        
                                                A SIMPLE PRAYER (6)

                                  Dear Heavenly Father,

                                  Forgive me
                                  Help me
                                  Bless me
                                  Guide me
                            
                                  In Jesus' name,
​                                  Amen
                               
                                      Other Simple Prayers in the Open Road
                    
                                 1.  June 25, 2015
                                 2.  October 15, 2015
                                 3.  February 04, 2016
                                 4.  May 26,2016
                                 5.  July 28, 2017
                                 6.  August 24, 2019

                                  

  
                                                         ISAIAH 59:15,16,17

                                 Yea, truth faileth, and he that
                                 departeth from evil maketh
                                 himself a prey; and the Lord
                                 saw it and it displeased him
                                 that there was no judgment.

                                 And he saw that there was no man,
                                 and wondered that there was no
                                 intercessor. therefore [Lord's]arm
                                 brought salvation unto him, and 
                                 the [Lord's] righteousness sustained
                                 him

                                 For he put on righteousness as a 
                                 breastplate, and a helmet of salvation;
                                 upon his head, and he put on the garments 
                                 of vengeance, for clothing, and he was clad
                                 with zeal as a cloak.

                                                         THE FAILURE  596
                   
                   He did not start talking until he was three.
                   He was told by one of his high school teachers,
                   "You will never amount to anything."

                   He became a high school dropout.

                   He failed his first college entrance exams, 
                   being deficient in botany, zoology and foreign
                   languages.

                   He had to study for an extra year to gain 
                   admittance to college. And, once there, 
                   "he cut lectures, read what he wanted, 
                   tinkered in school labs, and incurred the
                   wrath of his teachers."

                   He was called "a lazy dog" by one of his 
                   college professors.

                   He passed his final exams by cramming 
                   and graduated from college. But, he 
                   antagonized his professors so much so
                   that he was unable to obtain a university 
                   teaching post.

                   He finally wound up as an examiner 
                   for the patent office. While there, 
                   he had time to think.

                   He submitted a paper to a scientific journal 
                   that revolutionized the thinking of the scientific world.

​                   His name...Albert Einstein.
       
                   (Written on March 3, 1979)

                    
                                                              

                                                 GOD GIVE US MEN  260

                        God, give us men! A time like this demands
                        Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
                        Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
                        Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
                        Men who possess opinions and a will;
                        Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
                        Men who can stand before a demagogue
                        And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
                        Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
                        In public duty, and in private thinking;
                        For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
                        Their large professions and their little deeds,
                        Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
                        Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.

                        (Spoken by Richard Todd, playing the role
                        of Peter Marshall, in the movie, A Man Called Peter.
                        The Poem was written by Josiah Gilbert Holland.)
                        (First posted on August 18, 2019)

                                                  THE SILENT MAJORITY  597
 
                                 The silent majority is speaking.
                                 State legislatures are listening.
                                 Soon and very soon state legislatures
                                 will have to respond affirmatively
                                 to the desire and wishes of the people.

                                 The silent majority is crying out
                                 loud and clear for an end to the
                                 Federal government's deficit spending.

                                 A sound fiscal policy is needed and
                                 needed now. We should keep the
                                 pressure on, until a balanced budget
                                 is passed and become operative.

                                 (Written on March 18, 1979, with revisions
                                 on August 11, 2019. Obviously, things have
                                 gotten much worse since 1979.)
                                 

                                                   ISAIAH 59:1,2,4,8

                            Behold, the Lord's hand is not
                            shortened, that it cannot save:
                            neither his ear heavy, that it
                            cannot hear

                            But your iniquities have separated
                            between you and your God,
                            and your sins have hid his face
                            from you that he will
                            not hear.

                            None calleth for justice, nor any
                            pleadeth for truth.
                            They trust in vanity and speak lies.
                            They conceive mischief and bring
                            forth iniquity.

                            The way of peace, they know not, 
                            and there is no judgment in their 
                            goings. 
                            They have made them crooked paths.
                            Whoever goeth therein shall not know
                            peace.
            
                            

​