Wonderfully Blessed

Today I am wonderfully blessed

I have commenced my sixty-sixth year,

Going to funerals is my past time

But none has been mine; that’s clear.

I give God thanks today

For letting me live this long,

Many have gone the way of the earth

But I am still around.

A few have been family members

Some have been great friends,

Some have been contemporaries

They all have met their end.

Their lives have left a mark on me

In many, many ways

I thank God for their influence

And I praise Him every day.

I thank Him for health and strength

And all the blessings He gives,

I shall not take my time for granted

However long I live.

I draw on the words of the Psalmist

For this particular occasion,

“So teach me to number my days

That I may apply my heart to wisdom.”

My health thus far God has ensured

I give Him thanks and praise,

And as long as He lends me breath

My voice for Him I will raise.

I know not the length of my time

Or how much longer my sojourn

But my goal is to please my Saviour

Each and every awaking morn.

I give him thanks for my B.A.

“Born Again” is what I mean,

Far surpassing all of my achievements

This certainly is the cream.

One death I’ll probably experience

But two births are already mine,

The second by far is the more important

That is the spiritual kind.

I cannot remember the exact day

Though I can for my natural birth

But I know I am a dual citizen

Of heaven and of this earth.

Born of water and of the Spirit

I am a child of God

And on this my sixty-sixth birthday

I am spreading that news abroad.

I am not ashamed of the new birth

For it ensures I will never die

And I will have a home with Jesus

Be it on the earth or in the sky.

Stewart Russell (c) February 2019