Mum Russell Has Graduated

Hey there family!

Biological and otherwise,

Mum Russell signed out today,

Yes, I mean her demise.

Just about four this morning

When most were asleep

She said goodbye, world

So to speak.

We went to the home

My sister and I,

Accompanied by my wife...

No need to sigh.

There we saw her lying

A smile on her face,

There were less wrinkles too

Just a little trace.

I pinched her hand

Yes, I wanted to be sure

That she had really left us,

She had closed the door.

She signalled us for a while,

She wanted us to understand

That everything concerning her

Was according to God's plan.

 

Unlike her husband 

Who left in a hurry,

 She was far kinder to us

So this is less of a worry.

She batted very well

To the glory of God,

So for all of you reading this 

Please spread that abroad.

I will sign off now,

This was just to let you know

Mum Russell has graduated,

Resplendent was her glow.

Stewart Russell (c) March 31, 2020

 

Corona Paranoia

 

If you go out in public

Please don’t cough or sneeze,

In this COVID pandemic

You just might be seized.

Every cough or sneeze

Presents a virus threat,

And some people have the virus

Even if they don’t have it yet.

That’s how they are treated

When they cough or sneeze,

Some run far from them

While others just freeze.

 

It is Corona paranoia

And it is justified,

It’s nothing nice to experience

Many have testified.

It is global in its extent

Touching both rich and poor,

And daily we are told

It’s worse than anything before.

People are literally afraid

To hug or to kiss,

Shaking hands is also out

Everyone is at risk.

 

It is Corona paranoia

And it’s a legitimate fear,

In the event of a cough or sneeze

Death lingers near.

So that if you are accused

Of being paranoid,

Find out from your accuser

If he/she is a humanoid.

  

As far as I can tell

Any human can be afflicted,

COVID is no respecter of persons,

It is death premeditated.

 

Call me paranoid if you like

I am keeping my guard up,

No messing with COVID for me

Spare me its bitter cup.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

 

 

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

But we have this treasure

In earthen vessels,

That the excellency of the power may be of God,

And not of us.

We are troubled on every side,

Yet not distressed; 

We are perplexed,

But not in despair;

Persecuted,

But not forsaken;

Cast down,

But not destroyed…

I don’t know the origin

Of the COVID virus

But that is neither here nor there

Since I know Jesus.

What if its cause is 5G?

Or what if it is man-made?

What if it’s an experiment

Now on an escapade?

None of these things

Ultimately matters,

At the end of the day

When compared to one's soul,

All is noisy chatter.

The believer has an assurance

That’s expressed in this scripture,

Read it and feed on it

And you will get the picture.

 

Frail is the housing

Of both the saved and unsaved,

Brought on by sin

Though at first, perfectly made.

  

Our fore-parents disobeyed

The directive God gave

When they fell for the temptation

Offered by Satan, the Knave.

Ever since then

The world has been cursed,

And in these times that we live

It is getting worse.

And being saved

Does not protect us from its ills

But knowing that God dwells in us

Should give the believer a thrill.

 

Yes! We have this treasure

In an earthen vessel,

Even though like everyone else,

We endure life’s hassle.

That treasure is of God

And not of us,

It’s the compliments of the Father,

The Spirit and His Son, Jesus.

Especially at this time

God’s excellency should show,

In every single believer

So that the world may know…

That we have a hope

In spite of COVID,

It’s an eternal salvation

That only Jesus can give.

Meanwhile,

We are troubled on every side,

Yes, we are oppressed!

But believers in Christ

Should not be distressed.

   

We are perplexed

Though not in despair,

At this time the believer

Should not be pulling out his hair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken;

Cast down, but not destroyed;

It is the life of Jesus in us

That we now enjoy.

Hence, we should bear God’s image

As His princely children

And at the same time not make light

Of this COVID problem.

 

My wife shared with me

This passage of scripture,

And I trust like we did,

You have got the picture.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

For Such a Time as This

She is not my favourite person,

Understand that I mean the PM

But I must confess I am impressed

With her handling of this problem.

I do not say this grudgingly

But I had to paint the background

So you’d understand that I write this poem

From my heart, and deep down.

With some things, I don’t agree

Considering her over all rule

But I get the clear impression here of late

She is being the Master’s tool.

I need to turn to the Holy Book

And from there explain to you

Why, contrary to my previous position,

I now hold this present view.

In the book named after a queen

Here are some words you should not miss:

“And who knows whether you are come to the kingdom

For such a time as this?”

A foreigner in the land was she

And her people were held captive,

A decree was sought from a certain source

For her people to die and not live.

When she heard of the wicked scheme

She placed her life on the line

And ventured to talk to the king

Though uninvited at that time.

To make a long story short

With the help of God, she succeeded,

And the conspirators of the wicked deed

Were utterly defeated.

The name of the queen was Esther

For the Jews she saved the day,

By simply following her spiritual advisor,

She was able to do it God’s way.

Too often we look at the person

Instead of what’s vested in him

And because of our personal preference

Our perspective of the situation is dim.

 

Who knows whether Mia Amor Mottley

Has come to our Parliament for this?

For while I have a preference for male leadership,

In Parliament, there’s a dearth on my list.

So let’s put aside our differences,

Be they political, gender or otherwise,

And together, for the betterment of Barbados,

From our selfish agendas arise.

There is much, too much at stake,

To ignore the work that’s being done,

So, together with our hardworking PM,

Let us march to the beat of the drum.

Maybe, just maybe,

 She has come to the kingdom

For such a time as this.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

COVID-19 Protocols

Social distancing

And the washing of hands.

Please incorporate both

In your everyday plan.

Once available

Use water and soap,

This old fashion method

Will help you to cope.

Use a good sanitizer,

Keep hands from the face

Especially when in and out

Of a public place.

Protect the little ones

As best as you can

And consider the elderly

Be it woman or man.

 

No Q in the Community

But queue in a line,

Any urge to boar

Please patiently decline.

Sneezing and coughing?

Avoid being seen

Especially in public,

Self-quarantine!

Stay at home!

Only go out if you must

And keep a good supply

Of the necessary stuff.

 

Remember the front-liners

As they do their work

And our unceasing prayer

Would surely not hurt.

Stay away from crowds

If any you see,

Whatever they are doing

Just let them be.

Listen to the news

Especially G.I.S,

This information source

Is definitely the best.

Follow these protocols

To kill this COVID-virus

And be extra careful

On the ZR and the bus.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

An Opportune Time

Here’s an opportune moment

To do some reflection,

A temporary distraction

From our constant projection.

We’ve been so obsessed

With our plans and projection

That we have spent little time

In serious reflection.

Not that we hadn’t planned

Or intended to do so

 But with things coming on stream

We couldn’t interrupt the flow.

Reflection is about the useless past

And we want to get ahead

So we project and endeavour

With sometimes little time for bed.

 

In this fast pace world

We cannot afford to slow down

But now with the advent of Covid-19

We have been proven wrong.

Things have slowed prodigiously

At home and abroad

And in countries large and small

Production has begun to fall.

Social gatherings have been limited

And the elderly confined indoors,

No doubt those who venture out

This is becoming a bore.

Some are working from at home

While schools have been closed off

Restaurants and hotels

Are suffering significant loss.

 

We could grumble and fret

We could complain and gripe

Or we could make the best of family

And in one another delight.

An opportunity to appreciate life

And the blessings God has given,

A chance to study His Word

And to become more enlightened.

So let’s focus on Almighty God

And trust Him to bring us through,

He is mightier that the mightiest virus

And there is nothing that He can’t do.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

All in the Family

My father is my son’s grandfather,

Think with me, that’s two!

My son is my father’s grandson,

Two again, yes, that’s true!

I am my son’s father

While he is my son,

Two fathers and two sons

 Make four, that’s fun!

So far though,

 We’ve only mentioned three:

Grandfather, father and son,

Hope you see.

Or is it grandson, son and father,

This three?

Family is so mixed-up,

Which can it be?

You see, my father and my son’s grandfather

 Are one and the same.

Similarly, my son and my father’s grandson,

Yes, that’s my claim.

Started out with two.

 Suddenly four appear,

Somewhere emerges three,

Something’s not clear.

I guess we could spend all day

 Trying to figure it out,

But it’s all in the family

 And that’s what family’s about.

Stewart Russell © 2012