Inspirations

Lord, I said

Lord, I said, how can you be so patient with me?


I have a sense of humor, He said.

Lord, I said, there goes another birthday. But I feel as young as ever! I don't believe I'm really any older.


Or wiser, He said.

Lord, I said, was it really worth it ... wheeling the old sun endlessly above earth's horizon to warm the ooze till life began, till man was?


It was a chance I had to take, He said.

Lord, I said, I have been praying and praying for this, and you haven't answered me.


Can you take 'no' for an answer, He said.

Lord, I said, I'll wait for a better answer.


Don't hang by your thumbs, He said.

Lord, I said, please let it happen this way.


I work better from my own script, He said.

Lord, I said, I've been asking for this, and so far I have had no word.


What channel are you tuned to, He said.

Lord, I said, you have not yet filled me.


I could fill you full, He said, if only you would plug all the leaks.

Lord, I said, I think this is going to be one of my more difficult days.


I've managed to get through them myself, He said.

Lord, I said, she doesn't love me.


I suppose that makes her unique, He said.

Lord, I said, I had it all planned out, but my heart loused it up.


You seem to have a chronic heart condition, He said.

Lord, I said, what a stupid goof I just made. Why didn't you stop me?


I was laughing too hard, He said.

Lord, I said, I wanted someone to say to me "I love you'. But when I went out and asked them, no one answered.


But you have to say it first, He said.

Lord, I said, this day has been too much for me. People have been stupid and thoughtless. The more I tried to do ...they made it come out all wrong.


Yes, He said, I know how that is myself.

Lord, I said, I love her. Is that good?


He frowned.

Lord, I said, then am I wrong to love her?


Not love, He said, but to ask if it is good.

Lord, I said, I've got it all together now...I'm ready to cope.

Lotsa luck, He said.

Lord, I said, it hurts. I opened myself to love, and I have been wounded.


Remember, He said, when your armor was on you could not be wounded; but also, you could not love...

Lord, I said, you let me be hurt! Why did you do this to me?


Shouldn't that last preposition be 'for', He said.

Lord, I said, that was your doing, wasn't it? Just when everything had fallen in, my friend came and sensed my pain, and cared.


I have my methods, He said.

Lord, I said, someone just smiled at me and my day lighted up. I feel like smiling too.


Try it, He said. You'll like it.

Lord, I said, that's a great rainbow! Does it mean that the flood is over? And can I send out the dove?


Better start with the raven, He said.

The Ship That Sails

I'd rather be the ship that sails
And rides the billows wild and free;
Than be the ship that always fails
To leave its port and go to sea.

I'd rather feel the sting of strife,
Where gales are born and tempests roar;
Than to settle down to useless life
And rot on dry dock on the shore.

I'd rather fight some mighty wave
With honor and supreme command;
And fill at last a well-earned grave,
Then die in ease upon the sand.

I'd rather drive where sea storms blow,
And be the ship that always failed
To make the ports where it would go,
Than be the ship that never sailed.

No chance?

With doubt and dismay you are smitten,
You think there's no chance for you, son?
Why, the best books haven't been written,
The best race hasn't been run,
The best score hasn't been made yet,
The best song hasn't been sung,
The best tune hasn't been played yet;
Cheer up, for the world is young!

No chance? Why, the world is just eager
For things, that you ought to create
Its store of true wealth is still meager
Its needs are incessant and great;
Don't worry and fret, faint-hearted,
The chances have just begun.
For the best jobs haven't been started,
The best work hasn't been done.

Berton Braley

After a While

After a while you learn the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman not the grief of a child
and you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
that you really are strong
and you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye you learn.

Veronica A.Shoffstall

The Gospel According to You

There's a sweet old story translated for men,
But writ in the long, long ago -
The Gospel according to Mark, Luke and John -
Of Christ and His mission below.

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By deeds that you do, by words that you say.
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true;
Say, what is the gospel according to you?

Men read and admire the gospel of Christ,
With its love so unfailing and true;
But what do they say, and what do they think
Of the gospel according to you?

'Tis a wonderful story, that gospel of love,
As it shines in the Christ-life divine,
And oh, that its truth might be told again
In the story of your life and mine!

You are writing each day a letter to men;
Take care that the writing is true.
'Tis the only gospel some men will read,
That gospel according to you.

My name is I AM

I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:

"My name is I Am." He paused.
I waited. He continued,
"When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I Was.
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I Will Be.
When you live in this moment,
it is not hard. I am here.
My name is I Am."

Helen Mallicoat

DARE GREATLY...

Received with thanks from Edna E. L., Westbrook, CT, USA

It is not the critic who counts;
nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled,
or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena;
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows the great enthusiasms, great devotions,
and spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement;
and who at the worst, if he fails,
at least fails daring greatly;
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

How do you measure success?

How do you measure success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people And the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics And endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better Whether by a healthy child, A redeemed social condition, Or a job well done; To know even one other life has breathed Because you lived-- This is to have succeeded. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The Pilgrimage

Birth is a beginning and death a destination. And life is a journey: from childhood to maturity and youth to age; From innocence to awareness and ignorance to knowing; From foolishness to discretion and then, perhaps, to wisdom; From strength to weakness - and, often, back again; From health to sickness and back, we pray, to health again. From offence to forgiveness, from loneliness to love, From joy to gratitude, from pain to compassion, From grief to understanding - from fear to faith. From defeat to defeat to defeat - until, looking backwards or ahead, We see that victory lies not at some high place along the way, But in having made the journey, stage by stage, A sacred pilgrimage. Birth is a beginning and death a destination. And life is a journey, A sacred pilgrimage to life everlasting.

My Goals

A little braver when the skies are grey, A little stronger when the road seems long, A little more of patience through the day, And not so quick to magnify a wrong. A little kinder, both of thought and deed, A little gentler with the old and weak, Swifter to sense another's pressing need And not so fast the hurtful phrase to speak. These are my goals - not flung beyond my power, Not dreams of glory, beautiful but vain, Not the great heights where buds of genius flower, But simple splendors which I ought to gain. These I can do and be from day to day Along the humble pathway where I plod, So that at last when I am called away I need not make apologies to God. Edgar A.Guest