Forty-Two Years On

 

Wedding bells ringing
To the sound of sweet I Do's...
Surrounding these two
Love doves soaring
On the wings of love,
Up and above the clouds
The only way? No, but by His design
They climb...
And keep climbing...
Rising to heights many aspire to
After all there's no guarantee
When you say I DO.
Those three letters can weigh heavy
On the heart...
Like a new tax or levy -
From the start,
They can add pressure, split ties or
Pull apart,
What seemed to be mapped out
On the chart
Of life.
For a husband and his wife,
Emotions like the ocean -
High and low tide
What matters isn't the pretty exterior...
Reception and destination honeymoon,
It's what fills the inside...
The core.
The foundational structure.
The "I'll never abandon her"
And "I'll always support him"
Whether we gain weight or stay trim
Like that day we said I Do!
We both agreed to
Follow things through
Until death do
Us part.
Not to sound dark
Or stark but to be blatantly honest,
After the food and festivities,
The gifts and feeling-like-celebrities,
The real test lies ahead
With moments of truth.
Isolated from opinion widespread
Under one roof, twenty toes in one bed
Between the sheets, man and woman
A queen who submitted and supported
As her trusted king led...
Remembering when they signed
Here and here -
To have, hold and share...
They learned what it meant.
All the energy and money spent,
Held together by love yes...
But more importantly discipline.
So those sweet hons, and love you too
Were battled tested along the way
And not necessarily by strife,
Thankfully.
But by the unpredictability of life,
Inevitably.
They have sustained and maintained
Not always blue skies but never disdain.
Never a hateful ending
To a discourse or interaction.
No screaming 'til she's hoarse or
Or her presence he shunned...
They worked through it.
Learning each day,
With a bit more patience,
By God's grace and abiding
By His ways.
Love and honesty adorned this place.
As every face to face
May not be perfect but
They found their way.
Maybe he deserved a medal
Or she might need a sedative,
But thankfully they understood
How to operate, how to live,
The give or take.
And let's say
For the sake of argument
You could take odds
On 42 years on
And mortgage paid
Children grown and making their way.
Health generally intact...
Stew and Lyn can look back
And clearly state
They made it.
Thankful for all the blessings
The more or lessons
That they received.
Not just conjecture or perception,
They definitively believe
They've achieved what many desire.
Not only the passion and fire
But ability to get through the mire
The flat tyres and "check engine lights"
The sleepless nights
At the end of long tiring days
When
They couldn't see beyond human gaze
But they COULD rely on God's strength.
And from that they raised up
And continued through the maze
And do so to this day,
by His continued grace.
Not fearing the grave,
As life wears on
But remembering August 1, 1981
And how far they've really come.
How many more till it's done?
Who knows...
But Stew and Lyn
Understand ebbs and flows...
And one thing's for certain
By His hand they're determined
To see it to the end.
Well... Hip Hip Hooray!
Cheers and God bless them!
With as many years as His will dictates,
However more may be, they'll happily take!

 

Michael Russell © August 2023

 

 

Praise God Almighty!

 

 

You would probably recall-

But I most certainly do

When I skated across a platform

Right in front of you.

 

One month shy of two years

You would recall

I was called on to pray

When I encountered my fall.

 

I have not darkened a church door

Ever since that time

But I praise God Almighty

He has kept me in line.

 

For a while I could not walk,

I could only hop around

And there were times

When I felt especially down.

 

Pain was my constant companion

And so was discomfort

And just to do some simple things

It would really hurt.

 

Just a stretched Achilles tendon

Had brought all this tension

And plagued my everyday

With loads of apprehension.

 

 

Then when I had gotten better

COVID came on the scene

And physical church attendance

Has been only a dream.

 

But praise Almighty God!

He has been my stay

And through all my experiences

He has been every day.

 

There is just a little evidence

Of the injury I had,

Just a slight protrusion on the heel

Which really isn’t bad.

 

I can live with that

For the rest of my life

And praise God Almighty

For the support from my wife.

 

I went back to my riding

It was easier that even walking,

Now I have no problem with either

And I am not just talking.

 

 

 

For the photos in this poem

You must thank my wife

And for those who are jealous of me

Go get a life!

 

I have written poem after poem

Over these last two years,

On my blog you would have seen

Some of my concerns and cares.

 

I praise Almighty God

For how He has inspired me

And how He has opened my eyes

To show me much I did not see.

 

The more I have learned

The greater my deficit

But I have come to appreciate more

The enormity of the Holy Spirit.

 

God shows to me my frailty

And in such reveals his strength

And to do this for all of us

He went to enormous lengths.

 

The cross was the ultimate

With its ridicule and shame

But praise God Almighty it is worth it

In Jesus’ name.

 

I daily long to assemble

With the brethren without a mask

And I do believe deep in my heart

This is not an impossible task.

  

For the time being, however,

I shall enjoy my riding

And every opportunity God affords me

I shall continue my writing.

 

Praise God Almighty!

God deserves every praise

And as long as He lends me breath

His cause I will raise.

 

Stewart Russell © July 28, 2021

 

The Mountaintop

Finally at the summit

I surveyed the beauty around me,

It was so much different up here

From down in the valley

I had struggled up the mount

But it was surely worth it,

Now I could see for miles and miles

And it boosted my spirit.

It reminded me of life

And the many uphill climbs,

The temptation to throw in the towel

And the many declines.

The hazardous and the precipitous

The grind and the pain,

The frights and anxieties

The days of effort and little gain.

My friends tried to discourage

And my foes relentlessly taunted

But an inner voice whispered,

“Never mind, do not be daunted.”

That’s when I took a deep breath

And with greater resolve

I ignored the demeaning negatives

And all my members involved.

Even before I had started out

I was told that I would fail

And that given my many weaknesses

My efforts would not avail.

Many stronger had attempted

But they did not succeed

And it would be in my best interest

If their advice I would heed.

Had I given into their attempts

I would never have started

But I knew anything worth achieving

Was not for the faint-hearted.

  

I am so glad that I insisted

And as one of the climbers enlisted

And all those naysayers resisted

And from deep within me persisted.

I was not the first to the top

And my time was not the quickest

But I rejoice in my triumph

Even though I was not the fittest.

In any case, I had some help

I do not mean of the earthly type

But from a friend, I truly know,

A friend that is always right.

And so as I stand at the top today

I know they will be other climbs,

They all will start from some valley

Where few things appear to be fine.

Where one’s view is nearsighted

And one’s grasp is very weak

And the taunting and the teasing

Makes the outlook particularly bleak.

Where the forecast is stormy

And the mood is quite downcast,

And where even the fittest of climbers

Will undoubtedly not last.

Unlike the strong, I need help

So in that category I will enlist

And such help is always forthcoming

From Him who will always assist.

The weak are perfect candidates

In whom God’s strength will work,

It’s then His strength is made perfect

And there is no urge to shirk.

So come on whatever the climb

With God, I am up to it,

For as a weakling I trust in God

And this is my daily habit.

If today your challenge is a climb

And difficulties are all around,

Remember it is on the mountaintop

Where the beauty will abound.

No such beauty will be yours

If in the valley you decidedly remain,

But if you resolutely climb with God

That mountaintop you will claim.

Stewart Russell © March 2019

Can You Believe It?

I was knocked for six

When I heard the news,

This was particularly so

Considering the recent reviews.

Enquiring how he was

“Great improvement” was the word

So that when I learnt of his passing

To me this was absurd.

Just over twenty four hours

“Great Improvement” was the word

Now I just could not understand

What I had just heard.

Just one year before

We suffered the passing of his wife,

Now one year later

He is void of all life.

How can this be?

I ask myself again and again

I am tempted to question God

But from that I shall refrain.

All things work together

For every born again believer

And the moment we forget this

We’ve been tricked by the Deceiver.

But it does toy with the mind

I can tell you that

And all who have lost a loved one

Will tell you, that’s a fact.

I am trying desperately

To switch to “consolatory” mood

But I just can’t seem to make it

Out of the “denial” groove

My god-brother and friend

One of the best I have ever had,

He is no longer with us

And that makes us quite sad.

  

We still try to come to grips

With the passing of Pearline,

Now Michael has also departed

It’s a “double whammy” scene.

Lord, help us at this time

As we try to process this event,

We are often baffled by life

But our good is your intent.

Comfort us with your peace

And strengthen by your grace

And remind us of your faithfulness

Through all that we must face.

Stewart Russell © December 18, 2018

At: 3:58 a.m.