poemHINDSIGHT
I dreamed of riding along in a train;
Missing my stop,
Made that trip again.
Life seemed familiar, as it was before;
Yet no, not so--
'Twas not an encore!
This time, instead of miserable me,
With twenty twenty vision,
I was able to see:
My mother and Dad, though oft not at home,
Stood there with throngs
From which a light shone;
Some of these saints, getting on board,
Seeing me there,
They praised the Lord.
A young lady sat,who'd entered in,
Said, "If not for your Dad
I'd be dead in sin.
Suicidal I was, about to O.D.,
What I needed most
He had there for me.
Thank you for sharing your father, my dear",
Said this young lady
Who sat down by me.
"My parents, friends and village had burned,
When returning home
This horror I learned.
My boyfriend, or so I had thought,
Was amorous toward me
Till his drugs I'd bought.
Fully addicted, thoroughly scorned,
I made the trip home
And then had to mourn.
I fell to the ground, my legs couldn't stand
Then, out of the smog
Your dad lent a hand.
He took hold of me, led me right to the place
Where people would help me,
And got me a place.
Checked in on me, time after time
Monitored progress
Ever so kind.
I knew then, that day, who'd looked down at me
An angel, as man
Helping me see.
Doing church work is just not the same
As the work of the church--
It's a ministering game."
She left, as the train shrieked to a halt
Left me to think
How I'd been at fault.
Giving is the way we often receive,
Fulfillment in life
Is not what we achieve.
Doing and giving, pouring yourself out,
There are more living waters
To come from the spout.
Love is multiplied only when
We spread it around
And are fishers of men.
In hindsight I see what drove Mom and Dad;
That sharing the good news
Fulfills, makes one glad.
I woke up next moring, knowing for sure,
That giving to others
Is religion that's pure.
I smiled as my bare feet hit the floor;
From that day till this
I'm ministering more.
Whether it be by gesture or deed
My hands and my life
Follow my parents' lead.
Maybe one day they'll be proud of me
For endeavoring to serve;
Their legacy.
Bonniegirl, July 2007.
