Invitation to My Pity Party

 

 

Friends and foes if any

You are invited to my pity party,

No doubt the latter on arrival

Will laugh at me heartily.

 

About the same re my friends

Who will say, “I told you so,”

For somehow before hard luck

Friends just seem to know.

 

One and all you are invited,

I hope you don’t spoil it for me,

No gifts or treats expected

Just bring your pious pity.

 

I have fallen on hard times,

It’s not the first time anyway,

However, those that feel it is my fault

Will surely have their say.

 

Yes, I am having a pity party

Please come and hear me moan,

It’s like nothing you’ve experience,

For you I will add a groan.

 

Friends and foes alike

Come and have a great time,

If you enjoy a great sad movie

You are sure to enjoy mine.

 

 

I am beginning to like my mood

And the attention I am getting,

As a matter of fact, I have realized

I have even stopped fretting.

 

Oh, I still moan and groan

Specially when people are around

And I put up a herculean effort

To convince them I am down.

 

Down in the depths of despair,

It could not have been worse,

Like Job in that biblical narrative

This is surely my curse.

 

An invitation to one and all

I am throwing a pity party,

Once you have heard my story

You are bound to feel guilty.

 

Guilty of having complained

About what you are going through

Not knowing mine is far worse

Than what is afflicting you.

 

It is a horrible time for me

And it is not even the first

Though I might add this little bit,

This is certainly the worse.

 

You’re free to share with others

And tell the entire church,

Tell them to earnestly pray for me

As this affliction truly hurts.

 

I have had quite a bit of pity

But I can really do with some more

So, tell them to bring in their pity,

Don’t leave it at the door.

 

 

My grief lump I am swallowing,

In my self-pity I am wallowing

So, subscribe and like my experience

And join my pity party following.

 

A pity party I am throwing

Grab a friend and come along,

Come empty handed, nothing more

And hear me sing my pity song.

 

If you come to mine this time

I will be sure to come to yours,

Come and hear from the horse’s mouth,

How I am hurting to the core.

 

No optimists are allowed,

Only pessimists will be welcomed,

I am not interested in your cure

Just to tell to you my problem.

 

Stewart Russell © July 25, 2023

A Great Idea

 

I had a great idea

At least I thought so,

I put it into action

All systems were on go.

It was a good idea

Yet void of thought

And I didn’t see the trouble

With which it was fraught.

I was raised in the church

That is all I knew,

 I was a singer and teacher

And an evangelist too.

 

But I became jealous

Yes, you wouldn’t believe

Of the aspiring converts

And how they were received.

It was like a honeymoon

What a fuss was made!

Like a baby in the family

You would be amazed.

And when they testified

I said to myself

Their experience was rich

Unlike my spiritual health.

They talked of their past

And from where God brought them,

I was always in the church

And therein was my problem.

I had no experiences

About which I could talk,

They were way ahead of me

For sure regarding their walk.

Here I was all these years

With nothing to boast about,

They had just come in

And already they could shout.

 

Which of us was the babe?

I began to wonder,

It appeared to be me

So I had much to ponder.

If I had similar experiences

I would be just like them,

Hence my great idea

That was replete with problems.

They came in with scars

Salvation could not remove,

That they went through hard times

Their testimonies did prove.

I was spared such

Having been always in church,

Why change all that

And be left in the lurch?

A dear friend of mine

Showed to me this reality

And as a result

I am sharing this testimony.

One’s past is a reminder

Regarding where he has been,

Be satisfied with the fact

That you have been redeemed.

Don’t compare testimonies

Or even progress reports,

Thank God for the fact

That He is your support.

Be grateful for the hardships

God has protected you from

And march to His timing

And not another's drum.

 

Be careful regarding the ideas

Which bombard your head,

Keep focus on Jesus

And follow him instead.

  

I’ve missed some of these guys

They are no longer around

And the frequency of such

Exponentially abounds.

Where are they to day

In their spiritual experience?

I have absolutely no idea

Ever since their absence.

But what I do know

Is that God has kept me thus far,

His testimony is true

And none comes on par.

The best experiences to get

Are those that are in Christ,

This is my current idea

And it has truly sufficed.

I had a great idea

At first I thought so

But after sound advice

That idea had to go.

Stewart Russell © April 2019