Hurting

 

The flame was lit

And brightly it shone,

Suddenly it was extinguished

Just before dawn.

The sun was about to rise

The prospects great,

A job well done

With much to anticipate.

A day like any other

Surely, when it had begun,

Turned out unlike any other

When it was done.

A Christian young man

Taken out in his prime

Leaving questions galore

During this COVID time.

A worker on the frontline,

A young photojournalist

Quick to respond to duty

Now sadly missed.

Heart wrenching news

Of the nightmare type

As a wonderful sunlit day

Suddenly turned to night.

 

“One of our very own”

The news media announced,

Suddenly robbed of his prospects

His verve and his bounce.

I cannot come to grips

As I ruminate on this,

How shattered the dreams

Of Sonia and Chris!

  

A job that in Barbados

Should be relatively safe,

Now we wonder…

After what has taken place.

He was not a police officer

As in the case of his dad,

Or joined the military forces

As is a youthful fad…

But a photojournalist

With an excitingly bright future,

Bringing the news to us

With a myriad of pictures.

Thousands of words

Painted with his camera lens

Suddenly, as of yesterday,

Coming to an end.

 

In the line of duty

At another murder scene,

Taken out by a vagrant

How abhorrently obscene!

Left in its wake

Shattered family and friends,

Distraught colleagues

And questions without end.

Why? Heavenly Father,

Not unlikely the first,

Show us Heavenly Father

The blessing in this curse.

I thought at this point

To mention his name

But I am restrained by a feeling

I’d be adding to the pain.

I trust God for his family

As they sort out this riddle

For no doubt in the distant future

It will still be a puzzle.

To the other grieving family:

It’ll be no different for you,

A myriad of questions

With no clear answers in view.

Yours too headed for work

Just like any other day,

Having not the slightest clue

Of this hurdle in his way.

It proved insurmountable

Through no fault of his own,

Plunging your family and friends

Into this twilight zone.

The way forward

Will not be an easy path

But God, your heavenly Father,

Is not daunted by any task.

Draw nearer to Him,

Make him your security and defense

And trust Him with your life

When life makes no sense.

Stewart Russell © June 2020

At the End of Another Year

Another year is departing

With just about six hours to go,

Some did not make it to the end

Great folks we were glad to know.

The cut is still fresh and bleeding

We are hurting quite a lot,

It’s difficult to make sense of their passing

But there is still much that we’ve got.

As we watch out the remaining hours

We give thanks we are still here

For we too could have be off the scene

And still could before the coming year.

There have been sorrow but also joy

There have been gains and losses,

Every one of us, though born again

Have had to bear our crosses.

But at no time I’m sure you know

Did we have to carry on alone,

There was one who walked with us

And he heard our every groan.

We set great store by our prayers

And the fanciful words that we say

But the groans we emit and the painful sobs,

He responds to them too in his own way.

So as this old year winds on down

And blows away into eternity,

We give God thanks for His great care

And every God-sent opportunity.

We praise Him too for the prospect

That looms in the coming year,

And though we do not know the future

We hold to faith instead of fear.

So Heavenly Father we thank you

Particularly in these last moments of 2018:

Another year that was a testimony to the fact

You never put on us what we cannot bear.

Stewart Russell © December 2018

The Life Saving Ad

Are you lonely?

Are you blue?

Are you living a lie?

Is this true?

Are you searching?

Are you hurting?

Have you tried most things?

But none is working?

If to all these

Your answer is yes

I can safely conclude

You haven’t tried the best.

Do you feel empty?

Do you feel drained?

Are your days long?

Is life a strain?

Have you self-doubt?

Do you lack confidence?

Are you run-down?

Do you feel spent?

What’s your attitude?

Do you feel let down?

Did you check the mirror?

Wasn’t there a frown?

What about friends?

Do you relate well?

Aren’t they uncomfortable?

Can’t you tell?

To the above questions

Did you respond?

Were you honest?

Right from verse one?

Would you like help?

Would you like it now?

Do you know Jesus?

Have you to him bowed?

I can’t explain it

But it really works,

He is the answer

For all of life’s hurts.

Sin separates us

From true happiness,

With Jesus on board

Life is at its best.

There’ll be problems

It’s the nature of life,

Take Jesus on board

To combat the strife.

Many are like you

Lonely and blue,

I recommend Jesus

He’s faithful and true.

He’ll guide you along

Life’s precipitous way

And present you blameless

On that coming day.

Yes, a day is coming

When all this will pass,

“Come ye blessed,” you’ll hear

You’ll be home at last.

Stewart Russell © January 2018