From the cradle to the grave
Decisions must be made,
The road of life is full of forks
At every turn they pervade.
Picture a straight road if you will
That’s smooth and also flat
Then picture life and you will find
It’s nothing remotely like that.
Life is puzzling from the start
Even at the point of birth,
Bitter and sweet for mother and child
As the child comes into the earth.
Even then the forks emerge
Regarding that child’s upkeep,
In a way he decides when he will eat
And when he will fall asleep.
This conflicts oft with mother’s plan
Especially during the night
And when she would rather be asleep
Baby is noisy and bright.
From post-natal stage to toddler
And then off he goes to school,
The forks become more prevalent
In light of the many school rules.
Rules at home and rules at school
Sometimes bring about conflict,
Such is the nature of these forks
That sometimes he even slips.
Out of primary and into secondary
Then on to tertiary he might go
But of the forks there is no ease
They come at a greater flow.
Decisions are a must
As forks increase in number and in type
And the young adult must manage well
The peer pressure and the hype.
Manoeuvers become more difficult
Circumstances manipulate the mind,
The forks are now multifaceted
And the way becomes hard to find.
A balance between recreation and work
And the other tensions of life,
Building a family comes into view
And the choosing of a wife.
Major forks are in the road ahead
Now more than himself to consider,
Decisions to be made on his behalf
And choices regarding another.
Not quite as simple as what to eat
Or wondering what to wear,
Not the mundane things of growing up
But now managing stress and fear.
Fear that comes with the competition
Fear of making a wrong turn,
The need to always be ahead
And critical decision-making learn
Less time deciding which fork to take
Less time to negotiate,
A decision is a must in the given time
A greater chance for a mistake.
Impossible to confront that fork again
And take the alternate path
But a lesson learnt before moving on
May be applied to the following task.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
These are the many forks of life
Negotiate them with deliberate care
And hence minimize your strife.
Consider now I admonish you
The most critical fork of all,
Take the wrong turn regarding this
And you are in for an eternal fall.
There is a road that we must take
As long as Jesus tarries
And the fork we take is critical
To the deciding of our destiny.
Accept God’s provision in his Son
And on eternal life lay hold,
Maintain your hold on the devil’s cloak
And you are sure to lose your soul.
Stewart Russell © May 2018
