My “D U I”

Driving under the influence?

No, nothing like that, rather,

Discomfort, unease, inconvenience,

Let me tell you the facts.

Discomfort, unease, inconvenience,

This is my “D U I”

 And, if you had my experience

You would probably cry.

You may want to argue

That these three are synonyms

But the subtle shades of meaning

Is what I shall be highlighting.

In terms of cause and effect

Each comes out of the other,

This I observed just recently

When dealing with a matter.

It was one that I created

Since I was feeling rather fit

And while running up some steps

I inadvertently slipped.

It was a horrible experience

One I will never forget

But there were consolations too,

Not all of it was regret.

At first I could not stand

My foot wouldn’t bear my weight,

I thought it had been broken…

O what an awful state!

Fortunately, it was not so

But the pain was quite intense,

Then, a minor slip…

And now a major offense.

So by now you surely know

The cause of my “D U I”,

I should have walked instead run

You must have heard me sigh.

  

Now there is acute discomfort

Walking has become a struggle,

And this is only just one-third

Of my overall trouble.

One-third is the unease

In achieving the simple things,

Those everyday normal practices

That our daily living brings.

One-third is the inconvenience

 Of heavily depending on others,

Inconveniencing those around me

Only makes me a bother,

Discomfort, unease, inconvenience,

Not driving under the influence,

This is the “D U I” of mine

That threatens to make me a nuisance.

Stewart Russell (c) August 2019

But A Moment

I wish I didn’t have to die

But if Jesus tarries I must

So I must prepare to leave here

After all of the hoorah and fuss.

There’s just one way we come

But several in which we go

But why am I telling you this

When you already know?

We do not know the time

We have on this terrestrial plain

But however short or long it is

It is a mix of pleasure and pain.

There are the highs and lows

The joys and the sorrows,

The certainty of the present

And the uncertainty of tomorrow.

There’re many valleys to traverse

And many mountains to climb,

Some memories will be fleeting

And some will cling to the mind.

A sordid mix we’ll encounter

But many precious souls too

And depending on the imbalance,

This could shape our worldview.

A tilt towards a creative God

Or an incline towards evolution,

A hope when this life has passed

Or nothingness and dissolution.

We agree, whatever our worldview

That we are not here forever

But however long our sojourn,

The best should be our endeavour.

An uplifting philosophy is necessary

And not the poisonous type,

A compassionate, caring individual

And not of mere emotional hype.

  

Demonstrating the love of Christ

And not given to promissory talk,

But following the example of Jesus

And engaging a meaningful walk.

This present life is but a moment

A very fleeting moment at that

And relative to all of time,

This should be an obvious fact.

From the cradle to the grave

That’s the journey initiated at birth

And though a few reach one hundred,

We all go the way of the earth.

An inevitable return to the dust

The material from which we came,

The end of life as we now know it

Interred in the nether domain.

Awaiting a coming resurrection

Of both the saved and the lost:

The former would have died in Christ

The latter forsook the cross.

One’s life may be just a moment

A mere dot on the segment of time

But one’s eternal destiny is settled

Depending on the state of one’s mind.

A mind that was set on Christ

Or one that was decidedly otherwise:

The former to everlasting paradise

The latter to his eternal demise.

Life is a moment to procure salvation  

An opportunity to come to Christ,

A chance to accept God’s saving grace

And Christ substitutionary sacrifice.

Dying for the saint is a gateway

At the end of our sojourn here

And the joy of this present life

Cannot be compared to the joy over there.

Stewart Russell © August 2018

Aspirants and Aspirins

He’s at the top

I’m just halfway there,

I’ll probably never make it

And that’s my fear.

He was halfway up

When I started out

But moving at his rate?

That’s not what I’m about.

The top is mine

It was promised to me,

I was born to lead

Any blind man can see.

For too long now

I have been led,

He’s in my position

I must be at the head.

I need to move now

And quicken up my rate

Or I won’t make it,

What a terrible fate!

Just middle management

Are you kidding me?

By the end of this year

The top is where I’ll be.

But so short a period

In which to achieve,

So many in between

That will likely impede.

Twenty years it took

To be where I am now

But in a year’s time

I’ll be at the top somehow.

It’s not about the salary

Well, not that alone

But I like the importance

Of being in that zone.

  

I like the accolades they get

And I see how they strut

And besides all that

I’ve been too long in this rut.

Middle management

 For these last five years!

It is time to move on

I must change gear.

Full speed ahead!

Get out of my way!

I am coming for the top

I don’t care who is there.

All of this aspiration

It’s giving me a headache,

I’d better take an aspirin

Or I might be “the late”.

A word to the wise

And to the foolish too,

At times there appears no difference

Between these two.

Better take your time

And pay your dues,

Focus on the next level

Even with the top in view.

There are enough headaches

Between this and the next,

An aspirin may not work

Especially when you’re vexed.

Your time will come

If you wait your turn,

Impatience is like a match

It can really burn.

Aspiration is all right

And it is very necessary too

But too many aspirins

And we could be burying you.

Stewart Russell © February 2019

A Critical Question

Permit me to be morbid

This one time

And ask you a question

To which I am inclined.

Have you come to grips

With your own mortality

Or “not me” is your position

Regarding your nether destiny?

For when you are dead

You will not know

It doesn’t matter who tells you

Be it friend or foe.

Death used to trouble me

Both day and night,

I was afraid to die

Death was my plight.

But as I got older

I have settled down,

I am now marching to life

Instead of the death drum.

I am still not ready to die

But I’m surely prepared

For I know it’ll catch up with me

So I’m not too scared.

I’ve made it right with God

Thus He’s in charge,

I’ve settled the question

Even if death looms large.

Have you settled the question

That pertains to your soul?

Don’t speculate with time

You may not grow old.

And if you are old

Then time is indeed short,

It may be closer than you think

For your funeral escort.

  

For some people

This life is all there is

And they don’t have the time

To spend on the afterlife quiz.

But there has to be something

More than this life,

There has to be something

Better than this strife.

Even with man

There are a purpose and plan

For the innovations

Which result from his hand.

When one examines

The masterpiece that is man,

It speaks of a Supreme mind

With an intelligent plan.

If the end of all life

Is just destruction and annihilation

Why create a masterpiece

That is bound for extinction?

With a sober mind

I beg you to examine

The biblical explanation

Regarding the beginning.

In the beginning God-

He’s the source, the life, the All,

In Him, all things consist

And any other is a wrong call.

He will demand an account

From both you and me,

This is as inevitable

As our pending mortality.

Permit me to be morbid

Just one more time

Death is certain should Jesus tarry,

To God’s purpose please be resigned.

Stewart Russell © April 2018