Miss

 

 

Today let’s talk about ‘miss’

No, not a single-lady

But a slip-up, an omission

Or a golden opportunity.

 

A failing to perceive or catch

With the senses or the mind,

To lose or to overlook

Even a slipping up on time.

 

A missing of one’s step

That can produce a stumble or a fall,

A misstep, we shall call this,

That is: a temporary stall.

 

With no Waze or Google

When a location searching out,

We can miss the gap we wanted

And go on around-about.

 

That was my experience

Just yesterday,

I gave Waze wrong information

And actually lost my way.

 

What a golden opportunity

Some people miss

When they proceed the wrong way

As though ignorance is bliss!

 

 

A huge quarrel it was

Caused by a misunderstanding,

Neither saw the other’s point

But both were still demanding.

 

I have a great nephew

With whom I am working,

He makes careless mistakes in Math

Base on miscalculation.

 

If this is not corrected

He will miss his school of choice,

A terrible miss it will be!

Let me lower my voice.

 

A missing of the mark!

A biblical definition for sin,

However, Jesus calls all and sundry

Inviting them to come to him.

 

 

“A miss is good as a mile”

Maybe you are familiar with this,

It doesn’t matter how close,

A miss is still a miss.

 

I miss my father and mother;

They both have passed away,

They are constantly in my memory

Each and every day.

 

She mistyped the information

Causing much confusion

Not to mention the consternation

Re the incorrect conclusion.

 

It was the worker’s fault

That he missed the early train

And as far as everybody could see,

He had only himself to blame.

 

“There is something missing”

This always tickles me

Or somebody turns up missing,

Now tell me, how can this be?

 

There is a sense also

In which to miss is an escape:

“Luckily, I missed the hurricane.”

That was great at any rate!

 

Mistyped, miscalculate, miscount,

Mis-average and mistake,

Misjudge, mis-analyze, misinform,

Misquote especially here of late.

 

 

It’s either lost or misplaced:

A common old age tendency,

Alzheimer’s disease or forgetfulness,

Or just plain senility.

 

I have diligently tried

Not to misinterpret or misquote

But if you see any miscarriage of justice,

Please, I beg you, drop me a note.

 

By the way I have missed two:

Mislead and misdirect,

We should not do either of these

Knowing it to be incorrect.

 

Stewart Russell © March 18, 2023

 

A Choice of Suffering

 

 

 

I find this so intriguing

The salmon up the waterfall,

It is a determined sufferer

And this is its natural call.

 

Most creatures go with the flow

But the determined salmon does not

Instead it swims up the waterfall

For that is its destined lot.

 

What suffering it endures!

Just to perpetuate,

That is its way of life

Mostly for its young ones’ sake.

 

To view a similar situation

Pull up 1Peter 4: verses 15 and 16

Where the Apostle Peter directs us

To a very salmon-like scene.

 

Every born again believer

Will encounter some suffering,

It will come in some form or fashion

So there is no use denying.

 

Notwithstanding what we sing

Suffering will still come our way

But do note that we have a choice,

Check what these verses say.

 

Do not suffer as a murderer

Do not suffer as a thief,

The constant practice of evil doing

Is not the Christian’s belief.

 

But instead suffer as a Christian

And do not ever be ashamed,

Such suffering glorifies the Father

As we do so in Jesus’ name.

 

Even as Jesus also suffered

We can expect some suffering too,

Suffering for righteousness sake

Depicts a faith that is true.

 

  

“I will not suffer,” we sing

And “I will not beg for bread,”

And we have the audacity to say

“That’s what the Bible said.”

 

Perhaps we need to re-examine

The theology that we sing

For when compared to 1Peter,

It is not the same thing.

 

Peter says that we will suffer

So how can we sing we will not?

He makes it clear to you and me

That suffering is the Christian’s lot.

 

But there is yet a consolation

And that is, we have a choice,

We do not suffer as the evildoer

That listens to the devil’s voice.

 

Instead we suffer for Christ’s sake

He, having suffered for us,

And in partaking of his suffering,

We identify with Jesus.

 

The Apostle Peter urges us

To live a God-honouring life

So that God receives the glory

In the midst of the daily strife.

 

As a soldier of Jesus Christ

Expect to suffer for his sake

But let not that suffering become

The result of trouble you make.

 

Heed the words of Peter

As you make the best of choice

In choosing suffering that comes

As you obey the Saviour’s voice.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2019

 

Rambling On

 

 

“Once upon a time…”

How most stories would begin,

There was an innkeeper

That owned an inn.

 

People went in

And people went out

And I learnt that those people

Came from all about

 

He was knock-knee

And his wife was bow

And between the two of them

There was little to show.

 

They had a common enemy

Arthritis was his name,

Their legs would never straighten

And they were in much pain.

 

He walked with a stutter

And she, a constant hobble

And when they walked together

There was bound to be trouble.

 

Neither could help the other

No matter how they tried

And when one of them tumbled down

The other would lie down beside.

 

 

They went for long walks

With no destination in mind

Such that whenever they got there

They were always on time.

 

The problem was getting back

Especially if one had fallen,

The other would lie beside

As though their legs were broken.

 

Where am I going with this?

I expected you to enquire

So, like K-K and his wife Bow,

I will continue till I tire.

 

Not knowing where they were going

They seldom got very far,

In addition, I need not remind you

How their daily walks were marred.

 

Now, I have a knock-knee mind

And my heart is kind of bow

And like K-K and his faithful wife

I too have little to show.

 

My inn is my body

And my mind is the innkeeper,

Sometimes my heart would fall

And my mind would get weaker.

 

Together they would lie down

Until one helps up the other,

More often it was the mind

That helped the heart to get better.

 

 

Keep your heart with all diligence

And focus your mind on Christ

Your inn, the body, will prosper

And the Holy Spirit will suffice.

 

I’ve reached my unknown destination

So too have K-K and his wife

And though we rambled on a bit

“To be back” is very nice.

 

Now for the cast of the story:

The body was the inn

The mind was the innkeeper

And the heart, his wife, assisted him.

 

The thoughts were the people

That were going in and out

And likewise, it is with our thoughts

That come from all about.

 

Arthritis is the wine of self

That stops us from straightening up

That mars our daily walk with Christ

As from its glass we sup.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

For Me

 

 

 

The fool has said in his heart

There is no God… “For me!”

“For me” becomes the operative term

I trust you will agree.

 

Whether or not there is a God

Really does not matter,

To the fool this is his personal view

Hence, do not blame any other.

 

“For me” nails it right to the floor

No buts, no ifs, no anything,

“For me” identifies who is the fool

Whatever argument one brings.

 

“For me” says this is my quest

For me says I’m a fool like no other,

For while most fools are ignorant

Folly is my endeavor.

 

 

Folly enters via the mind

But its destination is the heart

And then it becomes nigh impossible

To tear the two apart.

 

Folly is like a cancer

That grows and grows and grows

And the mind that used to think

Now slows and slows and slows.

 

The fool soon begins to believe

What is naturally unreal,

Everyone, but he, becomes the fool

And he grades all with a ‘fail’.

 

There is no God “for me”

Becomes more and more acute

And his heart is heard above all else

As the mind increasingly mutes.

 

“In his heart”, the Bible says,

Hence, the mind has gone to sleep,

The two were designed to work together

Now it’s only the heart that speaks.

 

“For me” the unspoken expression

Louder than the spoken words,

Expressed from a heart of derision

Makes the speaker more absurd.

 

“For me” holds him accountable

The ‘him’ here being the fool

And not any learning institution,

Be it a church or a school.

 

 

 

“For me” is not in the original quote

So, it was obviously an add on,

No doubt by the fool it referred to

Have a good day, my friends,

I am gone!

 

Stewart Russell © February 9, 2022

 

 

Emptiness

 

 

When the dust had settled

There was nothing to see,

So many such cases nowadays

And for an exorbitant fee.

 

Of planning and effort

Of gigantic proportions,

And the best in the business

Regarding the promotion.

 

Hype and expectation

Anticipating a great time,

Yet another event promising

A one of a kind.

 

But when the dust had settled

There was nothing to see,

Lots of money and effort

Just to disappoint me.

 

It was going to be bigger

And better too,

Far better that any before

Was the majority view.

 

I know you may be thinking

Of a specific event

But regarding this poem

That is not my intent.

 

Rather, I am speaking

Regarding all of life:

Its intervals of fragile peace

And its increasing strife.

 

 

 

The big plans we make

And the money we spend

For the huge disappointments

That attend at the end.

 

The emptiness afterwards,

The thrill having long passed

And left wondering once again,

Why it did not last?

 

In so much of life

Is this overwhelming emptiness,

Coupled with the need

For some genuine rest.

 

The partylike atmosphere

With its oft promise to relieve

Leaves its trusting patrons

With no satisfaction guaranteed.

 

Disappointed and deceived

With short-lived satisfaction

But will without doubt try again;

It’s now an addiction.

 

 

 

After yet another thrill

There is an acute emptiness

And with it an emotional pain

That hinders sweet rest.

 

When the dust had settled

There was nothing to see

The only thing of permanence

Is emptiness and misery.

 

Stewart Russell © September 22, 2020

 

A Lament and A Request

 

 

 

If I knew then what I know now

I would not have done what I did then,

Hindsight is twenty-twenty vision

Hence, now I see the problem.

 

I had it all, well quite a lot

But I thought there was more to be had,

So I hatched a scheme and planned it well

But the whole thing turned out bad.

 

I underestimated the one at the top

I did not know what I was thinking

For all along he was aware of my scheme

And next the entire thing was sinking.

 

It was no use weeping over spilt milk

I just waited for another opportunity,

And came it did in another place

And I grabbed that chance with glee.

 

It was like taking cake from a child

And indeed they were more like children,

I pull that one off with great success

This time I created the problem.

 

I got revenge but was still dissatisfied

Even though I had created a mess,

So I waited patiently for another chance

And that one was the test of tests.

But again I failed and miserably so

Even though I had held some odds,

I had to be a slow learner, I now can see

That I took on a failure’s job.

 

Many a man thinks I am smart

And throw in their lot with me,

But they are wasting their time just like I did

And will share in my destiny.

 

I won’t go empty handed and that’s a fact

I did not in my first attempt,

And now my goal is to add to my lot

To those that with me are hell bent.

 

Defeated by the Father and then the Son

And now by the Holy Spirit,

Running out of time and rapidly so

With failure as my growing habit.

 

I will end my lament with this request

As I beg you to join those without hope,

Please, as my emissaries come to your door

I am asking that you give me your vote.

 

Perhaps by now you think I’m a fool

And I am inclined to agree with you

But if all like now you haven’t tuned to God

Then you must be a fool too.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019