The Race

"Quit, give up, you're beaten", they shout at you and plead,
"There's just so much against you now, this time you can't succeed,"
And as I start to hang my head, in front of failures faced,
My downward fall is broken, by the memory of a race.
And hope refills my weakened will, as I recall the scene,
For just the thought of that short race, rejuvenates my being.

A children's race, young boys, young men, I do remember well,
Excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn't hard to tell.
They all lined up, so full of hope, each thought to win the race,
Or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
And fathers watching from the sides, each cheering for his son,
And each boy hoped to show his Dad, that he could be the one.

The whistle blew, and off they went, young hearts and hopes afire,
To win and be the hero there, was each young boy's desire.
And one boy in particular, whose Dad was in the crowd, was running,
Near the lead, and thought "My Dad will be so proud."
But as he sped straight down the field, across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win, did lose his step and slip,
Trying to catch himself, his hands flew out to brace,
And mid laughter of the crowd, he fell flat on his face.

But as he fell, his Dad stood up, and showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said, "Get up, go win the race"
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit, that's all,
And ran with all his might and mind, to make up for the fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and win,
His mind went faster than his legs, he slipped and fell again.

He wished then he had quit before, with only one disgrace
"I'm hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn't try to race"
But in the laughing crowd he searched, and found his father's face
That steady look that said again "Get up and win the race.
So up he jumped to try again, ten yards behind the last,
"If I am going to gain those yards, then I have got to move real fast"
Exerting everything he had, he regained but eight or ten,
Still trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.

Defeat, he lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye,
"There's no sense running anymore - three strikes, I'm out, why try?"
The will to rise had disappeared, all hopes had fled away,
So far behind, and error-prone, a loser all the way

"I've lost, so what?" he thought, "I'll live with my disgrace,"
But then he thought about his Dad, whom soon he'd have to face,
"Get up" the echo sounded clear, "Get up and take your place,
You were not meant for failure here, get up and win the race."
With borrowed will "Get up" it said "You haven't lost at all,
For winning is not more than this - to rise each time you fall.

So far behind the others now, the most he'd ever been,
But still he gave it all he had, and ran as though to win.
Three times he'd fallen, three times he rose again,
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner, as he crossed the line first place,
His head held high and proud, No falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen runner crossed the line, last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer, for finishing the race,
And though he came in last, with head bowed low, unproud.
You would have thought he'd won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his Dad he sadly said, "I didn't do so well"
"To me you won" his father said, "You rose each time you fell."

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging, seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit...
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Success is failure, turned inside out.
The silver tint on the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell, how close you are,
It may be near, when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight, when you're hardest hit...
It's when things go wrong, that you mustn't quit.

I Saw Jesus

I saw Jesus last week.

He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt.
He was up at the church building;
He was alone and working hard.
For just a minute,
he looked a little like one of our members.
But it was Jesus,
I could tell by his smile.


I saw Jesus last Sunday.
He was teaching a Bible class.
He didn't talk real loud or use long words,
But you could tell he believed what he said.
For just a minute,
he looked like my Sunday School teacher.
But it was Jesus,
I could tell by his loving voice.


I saw Jesus yesterday.
He was at the hospital
visiting a friend who was sick.
They prayed together quietly.
For just a minute,
he looked like Brother Jones.
But it was Jesus,
I could tell by the tears in his eyes.


I saw Jesus this morning.
He was in my kitchen
making my breakfast
and fixing me a special lunch.
For just a minute,
he looked like my mom.
But it was Jesus,
I could feel the love from his heart.


I see Jesus everywhere,
Taking food to the sick,
Welcoming others to his home,
Being friendly to a newcomer
and for just a minute
I think he's someone I know.
But it's always Jesus,
I can tell by the way he serves.


May someone see Jesus in you today.


(Author Unknown)

I Asked for Strength...

I asked for strength and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom and
God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity and
God gave me brawn and brains to work.

I asked for courage and
God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for patience and
God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.

I asked for love and
God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for favors and
God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted
I received everything I needed.

My prayers have all been answered.

(Author Unknown)

The Man of Galilee

I am the man of Galilee
I came to Earth to set you free.
For you I came, For you I died,
For you I paid the highest price.
Because you are precious,
More precious than words.
And that is why,
I came to Earth.

(I wrote this! 27-April-2010)

The Oak Tree

A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew

(Johnny Ray Ryder Jr)

Walk On

To talk with God, no breath is lost,
Talk on.
To walk with God, no strength is lost,
Walk on.
To wait on God, no time is lost,
Wait on.

No Time

I knelt to pray, but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I hurried off to go to work,
The bills were overdue.

And so I said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty now was done,
My soul could be at ease.

All through the day, I had no time,
To speak a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me, I feared.

No time, no time, too much to do,
This was my constant cry.
No time to give to those in need...
At last, it was time to die.

And when before the Lord I came,
I stood with downcast eyes.
Within His hands he held a book,
It was the book of Life.

God looked into his book, and said
"Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down,
But never found the time".

Let Go and Let God

As children bring their broken toys, with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God, because He is my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him,

in peace, to work alone

I hung around, and tried to help,

with ways that were my own.

At last, I snatched them back again,

and cried "How could you be so slow?".

"My child", he said "What could I do?

You never did let go".


(Lauretta Burns, 1957)

The Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centred
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you may win some false friends and some true enemies
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you
Be honest and frank anyway.

Transparency may make you vulnerable
Be transparent anyway.

If you find peace and happiness, others may be jealous
Be happy anyway.

What you spend years building, may be destroyed overnight
Build anyway.

The good you do today, may be forgotten tomorrow
Do good anyway.

People who really want help, may attack you if you help them
Help them anyway.

Give the world the best that you have, and it may never be enough
Give the world your best, anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God
It is never between you and them,
Anyway.

(Found on the wall of Mother Teresa's Home for Children, in Calcutta)