[JustAmy]

3-4-05
Graphic by Billie

Why Have I Been Weeping?

I see the faces in the park, and each one tells a story,
Some bitter from the striving, some faded with their glory.
Some look out on the park and see the life inside them,
And some have hurts upon their face with nowhere else to hide them.

A comely matron passes by, her pride protects her pain,
She doesn’t seem to notice that her smile is showing strain.
A pair of schoolgirls next are seen, and giggle as they pass,
I hope their laughter will grow up when laddy meets his lass.

An old man sits near dozing with the sun upon his face,
I know that in his mind he is no longer near this place.
Instead he walks with hand about the love that he once held,
And now he sits with frozen smile where happiness has gelled.

A woman looks into my eyes, a question seems to rise,
Although her lips say nothing it is clearly in her eyes.
“Oh, stranger, do you know the pain I’m feeling in my heart?
Can you tell why I’ve been weeping? Do you know what made me start?”

I only know the answer to a question still unasked,
For it is the answer always for the way we have been tasked.
The answer is to love someone, though someone brought you pain,
Even though you’re hurting now, you still must love again.

For love is still the answer to the way to get through life,
And it doesn’t matter if you fail, or if you live in strife.
You must share your pain and loneliness, and laugh it all away,
And you’ll find that pain is ebbing as love’s tide flows in today.

Step out of the shadow of the pain that brought you grief,
And hold a child, and see her smile, and you will feel relief.
No matter how you’re hurting, and no matter what you’ve lost,
There’s even more to be received, with negligible cost.

Your life has many turnings, at the end you may look back,
And though you know you lost something, there’s nothing that you lack.
The life that seemed so shattered has been made into a whole,
And your audience applauds you for your stunning, starring role.

NicknamedBob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 19, 2004

[Diver Dave]

1st?

Evenin' Amy

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank y'all so much for the beautiful poem and graphic!

[4mycountry]

Yay! The next P&P thread! *inhales* And it has that "new thread" smell, too! :)

[Marguerite]

"What happened yesterday is history.
What happens tomorrow is a mystery.
What we do today makes a difference
- the precious present moment."

- Nick Saban

[Grzegorz 246]

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Friday! TGIF!!

[The Mayor]

March 4, 2005

Say "Mercy!"

Read:
Philippians 4:1-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer . . . let your requests be made known to God. -Philippians 4:6

Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 13-16

You may have played the game when you were a child. You interlace your fingers with someone else's and try to bend the other's hands back until one or the other cries "Mercy!" The winner is the one who gets the other person to surrender.

Sometimes we try to play "Mercy" with God when we pray. We have a request that we desperately want answered in a certain way, so we try to "bend His fingers back" and get Him to give in. When it seems we aren't winning, we try a little harder to convince Him by begging or bargaining. We may even give up grudgingly and say, "Lord, You always win! That's not fair!"

God does want honesty of heart. But occasionally in our honesty a demanding spirit comes out. Deep down we know that prayer is not meant to be a contest with God that we try to win. In our wiser moments, we make our requests known to our Lord, surrender them to Him, rely on His grace, and wait for His answers (Philippians 4:6-7). Author Hannah Whitall Smith said, "Be glad and eager to throw yourself unreservedly into His loving arms, and to hand over the reins of government to Him."

Instead of praying with grudging resignation, "Lord, You always win," surrender to Him. Say "Mercy!" -Anne Cetas

In Jesus' name we voice our prayers-
The Bible tells us to;
But may we never use that name
To tell God what to do. -D. De Haan

Prayer isn't a time to give orders but to report for duty!

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Jesus' Blueprint For Prayer

[international american]

I would call that a home run, with 2 men on.

[tuliptree76]

Hi everyone. Here are the holidays for the weekend.

Mar. 4:
Hug A GI Day
Tavern Day
Employee Appreciation Day

Mar. 5:
Say Hi To Mom Day
Multiple Personality Day

Mar. 6:
Chocolate Cheesecake Day
Dentist's Day

[tuliptree76]

Very pretty, Bob. :-)

[deadhead]

Beautiful poem, NicknamedBob. Beautiful graphic, Billie

Happy 'Hug a (((GI))) Day' All!

[Billie]

Thank you for the nice compliments on the graphic, and NnB for that wonderful poem. I told Amy that yours are usually a challenge to 'do', so am pleased when I can get it right.

IA ... ahem! for someone who's 140+ years old, I feel especially proud I could still see well enough to help with this home run. LOL! (You thought I didn't see your post a few days ago, huh?) :)

Colleen, I love that picture of Dubya when he surprised those troops on the plane before they deployed to Iraq!

Have a great weekend!