This page is dedicated to someone I love very much.
Footprints
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 mean security,
And you 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 open,
with the grace of an adult, 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,
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if
you get too much,
So 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.
©Veronica A. Shoffstall
1971
May You Have
Enough happiness to keep you sweet,
Enough trials to keep you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
Enough hope to keep you happy,
Enough failure to keep you humble,
Enough success to keep you eager,
Enough friends to give you comfort,
Enough wealth to meet your needs,
Enough enthusiasm to look forward,
Enough faith to banish depression,
Enough determination to make each day better than
yesterday.
"If you believe within your soul
Hold on tight and never let go...
Whatever you believe is meant to be
It surely is your destiny...
So listen to your heart's voice
When you need to make that one choice...
It's only your heart that you can trust
And in yourself is a must..
And when it's time for your dream to come true
Remember that God and the Angels are helping you...
So don't give up though the pace seems slow
When your dream will come...You will know.."
Believing In Yourself
Standing for what you believe in
regardless of the odds against you
and the pressure that tears at your resistance
means courage
Keeping a smile on your face
when inside you feel like dying
for the sake of supporting others
means strength
Stopping at nothing
and doing what in your heart
you know is right
means determination
Doing more than is expected
to make another's life a little more bearable
without uttering a single complaint
means compassion
Helping a friend in need
no matter the time or effort
to the best of your ability
means loyalty
Giving more than you have
and expecting nothing
but gratitude in return
means selflessness
Holding your head high
and being the best you know you can be
when life seems to fall apart at your feet
and facing each difficulty with
the confidence that time will bring
you better tomorrows
and never giving up
means believing in yourself...
-Poem by Mary Ellen Joseph
A Lesson Learned
Words can never show
What's really down inside
Our actions show our truer 'selves'
The 'me' we try to hide.
We fight to stuff it all within,
The guilt and shame we feel.
It's not until we start to "let go"
That we begin to really heal.
Tears come welling up, I'm scared!
Of the demon that's within.
I want to change but feel so weak
To fight what some call Sin.
Again, it's "letting go" I need,
To acknowledge I have NO power.
Then, and only then I'll see,
That this is my finest hour!
In now, my greatest weakness,
I finally fall to my knees.
In humble broken powerlessness
I now see my "Sin disease".
Tears, they come as floods
I think I won't survive.
But in the midst of the death I feel,
Perhaps I am for the first time "alive".
Can it be? That all this pain,
Was not a waste of my life?
But rather I had valuable lessons to learn
Through disappointment and strife?
I see more clearly with each day
That the "hell" that I've been in,
Is really my "dying to self"
So that a new life could begin.
Could God not help me??
In the chaos I was in?
Yes, I suppose He was,
But I had to let Him in.
In past times, I would not really let go
And let God enter in.
I wanted life to be as I prescribed it
Which was my greatest Sin.
With devastation all around me
And my life hopelessly out of my control.
I cannot fix others whom I love
Much less, myself console.
God help me learn to love
The way you want me to.
Grant me the serenity to accept
The love that comes from You.
I am a new creation
And learning how to truly "live"
Taking each day as a gift from God
A truer love I now receive and give.
Thank you God for this lesson
Born out of much pain and tears.
A lesson learned at such a great price
I will not forget for years...
or hopefully ever.
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