(I started a poem yesterday, so I am going to paste yesterday's portion here and tack on the rest of it as well as the blog for today.)
HE placed me in Tennessee
Of the USA as the place of my birth
Where I have known big city life
And small-town life, and my living
Has afforded me both tears and mirth
But through all of my trials and
Through all of my cares, HE
Has let me know that I have
Never walked alone
Because HE has always been as near as
My built-in telephone
By which HE has let me know that, for me
HE is always there, prayer.
HE has shown me HIS love in so
Many ways that I cannot tell them all
But I can tell you enough to let you know
That HE is a caring FATHER, WHO,
Though at times, I felt that I had lost all
Never let me fall.
You see, HE gave me favor in my neighborhood
Among the adults and my peers alike
HE rocked me during the loss of my
Daddy from my life by making my
Momma be strong enough as a Christian
To teach me that I had a FATHER
WHO was never going to abandon me
No matter what was happening in my life
Whether toils, hard school work
Lack of pretty clothes like the other
Kids had, lack of physical amenities
That other kids enjoyed
But through all of the negatives
I got to see Romans 8:28 employed
In that, HE gave me favor in others eyes
So that most of my needs and
A lot of my wants were supplied.
What do I mean by the statement above
I mean that I got to see the evidence
Of HIS continual love
In that, HE always made a way
HE made sure that I was fed by making sure
That my Momma, though a single parent
Had and kept the favor of her bosses despite
Having to change industries twice in the City
And HE made sure that I had a good self-concept
By giving me favor with my teachers
Allowing me to be singled out to eat lunch
With the principal in his office, just because
I made good grades and was from a low-income family
On me, he decided to have pity
And if I had a rather harrowing day at school
The favor of GOD had a neighbor to call me over
On my walk home from school and ask me to go
To the store for them and usually by the time
That I got home, my bad day had been erased
Because the bad feeling in my heart had given way
To my brain trying to figure out why, out of
The crowd of children walking home,
I was the one called out by my name or
By whatever clothes color I happened to have on.
This happened so much that my friends
and associates always deferred to me when
An adult would address our group and a lot of the time
When I passed my neighbors houses, they would ask me
What I learned at school that day
Or if it were report card time
They would ask to see mine
And after glancing at it, sometimes they would say
"Little girl, you keep going like you are and you
Are gonna be somebody one day; see if you don't!"
And one last thing to mention here
I never will forget the feeling of Christmas cheer
That spread through our house with the food
Basket that the city would deliver once a year.
There were so many times that I was made
To feel special that it never occurred to me
That I was not, but that is what happens when
You grow up with hedges around you, innocent
Of the manifold hurts that you are protected from
And oblivious of the hurts that are to come
When the hedges are somewhat removed
And you are sent to another school.
Gone were the neighbors calling me over to inquire
About how I was doing or about my grades
Or to offer a cool drink of water on their porch
As I rested in the shade.
You see I no longer walked to school in our neat
Little neighborhood, but had to cross three miles of streets
To get to the new school that I had been assigned to
And at that school, I was just one out of about 40
Exceptional kids in a grade of two hundred or so
Yes, there was one big exception between the
Other exceptional kids and me; they had money and two
Parents, along with it, don't you know?
But that turned out to be my proving and training ground
Because when I went to college later, I found out
That I had been ostracized enough that
I was not unduly bothered about being
Thought less of because of my clothes, race or what have you
Instead, I just determined within myself, "Don't know
Who you are or supposed to be
But you just wait until exam time and I will
Introduce you to me!"
Now, I took the long way around to tell you
That through all of the things that were meant to hold me back
I always seemed to persevere
I now know that it was because GOD's angel was near
And that is why I can tell you that if you
Have cultivated an intimate relationship
With the LORD GOD, you never have to fear
Because, though some current circumstances
On you may be tough
Those times are to prepare your traveling legs
For some terrain up ahead that is rough.
So, all of that to say this, "These tough times won't last
But the future may hold something that
Is worse, but because you will have been toughened by
These times, what is thrown at you next
You will sail through like a blast."
And don't be surprised if you find yourself
A leader of sorts, though you, yourself, have to struggle
Yep, you heard me right, folk may want
To be close to you because they think that to snuggle
Close to you is to court the favor of GOD
And you, mindful of the new position
Into which you have been thrust
Will stay on your knees as you continue
To do as you must.
So, don't waste time thinking about asking why
All of this stuff is happening to you
Just get yourself in gear and be prepared
To do the work that is being set for you to do.©
********
These pandemic times will be over one day, and let's make sure that we have allowed ourselves to be trained for the future work that is coming our way.
Be safe.
Walking by faith,
Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones
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