I Am Adopted

 

 

You must have heard

Of the orphan boy

Whose classmates oft teased him

And with him toyed.

 

They had their parents

While he had none,

The fact that he’d been adopted

For them was fun.

 

One day he struck back

With a revelation

Finally shredding to little pieces

Their summation.

 

They had parents

To whom they were born

But with no choice in the matter,

No not one.

 

’Twas their only option

You were all they got

But do understand I was chosen

From among a lot.

 

“Yes, I am adopted,”

He had proudly voiced,

But your parents took what they got;

They had no choice.

 

 

 

I too am adopted

But I am not ashamed,

I was adopted into God’s family

And carry His name.

 

Not by biological birth

But He chose me

To be one of His special children

For eternity.

 

Drafted into the family

Some may want to say

But definitely not an afterthought,

No way!

 

Justified and sanctified

And to be glorified

So, please don’t put down adoption

Or despise.

 

 

 

God had a choice

Whereby he adopted me,

Predestinated in Christ Jesus

For His glory.

 

Repeat the last verse

And emphasize the ‘me’,

For if you have been born again

You are God’s eternally.

 

Adopted in His family

Before the world began,

I reiterate, not an after thought

But the original plan.

 

Ephesians 1:5-6

 

Having predestinated us

Unto the adoption of children

By Jesus Christ to himself,

According to the good pleasure

Of his will.

 

To the praise

Of the glory of his grace,

Wherein he hath made us

Accepted in the beloved.

 

Now you should see

What I mean

And why I chose “I Am Adopted”

As my theme.

 

Stewart Russell © December 30, 2025

 

Before and After Retirement

 

 

 

When I started out teaching

I was very weakly paid

Such that at the end of the month

There was not much I had made.

 

It was less than two hundred

When I started to work,

So much less than two hundred

I could justifiably shirk.

 

At the very beginning

There was very little to save,

Having become a working man

I bought whatever I craved.

 

I opened a bank account

To which my pay was sent,

I still lived with my parents

So I did not pay rent.

 

I contributed to the home

Though there were no demands

And for the first few years

The rest flitted through my hands.

 

Scarcely a care in the world

I didn’t pay for my meals

And though my salary was small

I easily met my needs.

 

 

There was little on the account

That I had earlier opened

But I still lived at home

So that was no problem.

 

After eight years of teaching

There was little to show,

It was then that I determined

Time to stop the money flow.

 

Enter the Credit Union

And you know which one too:

The Wesleyan Holiness Credit Union

Now of a “One Heritage” view.

  

That became my nest egg

With an insurance policy or two,

My life after teaching

Suddenly came into view.

 

I started a family

But first I took a wife

And everybody here knows

She is the joy of my life.

 

She was working at the bank

Just where the money grows

But that was no free for all

God in heaven knows.

 

However there were two salaries

Two are better than one,

And into that situation

Our first child was born.

 

Three years hence

Came our second child,

She shall remain nameless

Except on her file.

 

I am telling you all this

So that you would understand

It is difficult to save

When there is such a demand.

 

A home to maintain

With a wife to satisfy

And two children to educate

Need a good money supply.

 

And while you are at it

You must still save for old age

And pay your tithes and offerings

Whatever your stage.

 

National Insurance Security

That was certainly a boss move,

It comes in handy at retirement

I have the evidence to prove.

 

 

And of course, one’s gratuity

That is another nest egg,

That comes in handy too

So that you don’t have to beg.

 

The first thing I noticed though

When I had first retired

Was my income was far more weakly

Than when I was hired.

 

That is the state of the retiree

Pension is far less than one’s salary,

The life before is now no more

The retiree is forced to be thrifty.

 

But you can still live

If you bear some things in mind:

The first one being

The “good times was” another time.

 

The second one is

Don’t flit it all away

For you must always be mindful

“Leave some for a rainy day.”

 

Now you know for sure

That I am no rich man

So if you are looking for money

Find somebody that can.

I am a retiree

And that makes me a pensioner,

It’s one day at a time

For my life that’s the answer.

 

Don’t let retirement catch you

With your pants down,

Prepare for it now

So that then you can still abound.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2018

 

On Becoming An Orphan

 

I am an orphan,

Can you tell me why?

Yes, you guessed right,

Both of my parents have died.

You would never understand

Until it happens to you,

It’s just four months now

That I knew.

Prior to that

Both were alive, then one,

Now I must inform you

Both of them are gone.

How does one feel?

One feels parentless.

What is the main consolation?

Both are at rest.

But life goes on

As it invariably must

Although, only for who are left

So, no need to fuss.

Can one be an orphan

If parents are still alive?

Yes, of course this can happen

And I do not jive.

Examine the question

And perhaps you will see how

But you must do so carefully;

Try doing so now.

It happens daily

You don’t need to guess,

After all, this is by no means

Your most difficult test.

  

Question is: whose parents?

Now think about that

And “yes” for the answer

Could be a fact.

I notice you are still lost

How unfortunate!

I figured you to be smarter

But that’s my mistake.

Let me elucidate you

If that is possible,

You see I never thought

This would be a puzzle.

I am an orphan

But parents are still alive,

The fact of the matter is

Not all parents have died.

Just you imagine

If that were to happen…

The existence of humanity

Would be severely threatened.

Parents are a necessity

To ensure that continuity

Remains a definite probability

For human society.

Thank God for your parents

If they are still alive

For you will be an orphan

The moment both die.

In remembrance of Dad and Mum Russell

Deceased November 2009 and March 2020 respectively

Stewart Russell © July 2020

God’s Way for Family

 

God gave a family to man

After He gave him a wife,

If man had continued God’s way

All would have been nice.

However, man made a U-turn

Along the way

And this has become the norm

Even to this day.

Now we have great confusion

And an abundance of strife

As man continues to sire children

Outside of a wife.

Today we have many children

In single parent homes

Where one parent raises the child

Almost all on their own.

We tend to think of children

As being hard-ears

But how do we see their parents

Who don’t seem to care?

Maybe the Law needs to step up

And really enforce its dictates

Or else civil society

Will be in the worse ever state.

This week was once celebrated

As Family Week

But it is being de-emphasized

Even as we speak.

It is time to revisit family

From the biblical perspective,

It is only when we follow the Word

That we will be effective.

Stewart Russell © May 2020

The Common Entrance Trap

Trapped in a hole

Unable to get out

And in another couple of days

Another bout.

Of stresses and fears

Of disappointments and tears

Of selection and rejection

And dejected stares.

“D” day it is called

When this scourge comes around,

No bad schools all good schools

But disparities abound.

The crème de la crème

Guaranteed the top

And many of the less privileged

At the bottom left to rot.

A real trap it is

Can we not see it?

Maybe, a useful tool in the past

But should now exit.

Mixed abilities we advocate

In our primary schools

But bright ones here and others there

Via the Common Entrance tool.

No bad schools all good schools

Yet there’s a pecking order

And for every secondary school

There is a specific border.

From the top to the bottom

Determined by the scores

And secondly the choices of parents

Nothing less nothing more.

Whether perceived or real

A trap is a trap

And the Common Entrance is,

It’s definitely a trap.

  

It preempts best practice

Forcing teaching to the test

Where students with good memory

Always do the best.

It thwarts problem-solving skills

There’s so little time,

Formulas are memorized

And critical thinking is left behind.

Keeping those at the top

Which are off to a quick start

And maintaining the status quo

With which we dare not part.

After all, there is a tradition

And tradition must be maintained

And if you happen to be down

That too must be sustained.

“My Father went there

And I went there too,

That is surely the best school

And so must you.

“When I look in the tabloids

For the ten at the top

You must there my son/daughter

Right in that top spot.”

Education is about equality

But all are not equal,

No bad schools all good schools

But some for certain people.

Leaving no one behind

Has been a declared policy

But some schools have been left

What abject lunacy!

Perceived ‘good teachers’

Depends on where they teach,

The otherwise are blamed

For every rule their students breach.

Surely at certain schools

Such a problem will not occur,

Thereat are the ‘good teachers’

Whom nothing can deter.

A teacher feels victimized

If transferred to a certain school,

And this sometimes happens

When teachers flout the rules.

At both primary and secondary

The perception is rife,

Some schools are inherently good

While others are not so nice.

The Common Entrance is a trap

In the way that it is used,

While in itself it could be useful

Currently, it is abused.

Being the sole determinant

And premised on a single score

Makes it a high stakes exam

Fraught with problems galore.

It would be so much better

If the exam were used for teaching

Instead of the trap it now is

Here is where I end my preaching.

Stewart Russell © April 2019

I Am Amazed

 

Please read right to the end before forming an opinion.

 

I am amazed

 At how we treat our children

Forcing them to like our stuff

And if they don’t

We get rough

And we get tough

I am amazed

At how we train our children

Forcing them to like our fashion

And if they don’t

We get in a passion

And treat them with aggression

I am amazed

At how we bamboozle our children

With our religion

That we know so little about

And how we shout

When our children opt out

I am amazed

At how we say no to our children

When it would be so much easier

To say yes

And give them our best

To relieve their stress

I am amazed

Why we make it hard for our children

In telling them to wait

Just for one minute

As a regular habit

And they see us like a cynic

I am amazed

When we criticize our children

Especially in their wrongdoing

Rather than smile

All the while

And encourage their style

I am amazed

When we try to guide our children

In the way of the Bible

Even in this modern day

Rather than let them have their say

In just how they want to stray

I am amazed

At how we regard our children

Not recognizing

They are far brighter than we are

Or ever will be

In spite of our jealousy

I am amazed

At how we try to control our children

Denying them their freedom

And their so-called rights

To do as they please

And sail through life with ease

I am amazed

At how we try to stop our children

From falling where we fell

And making our mistakes

So that in this life

They can get an easier break

I am amazed

At how we educate our children

By sending them to schools

With traditional standards and rules

To acquire the necessary tools

So they won’t be anybody’s fools

I am amazed

At how we treat to our children

As parents and not as buddies

When it would be far better

To be like their friends

And share the dividends

I am amazed

How we chastise our children

For our archaic and outmoded perception

Attributing to them rudeness and disrespect

Rather than introspect

And come to grips with what to expect

I am amazed

At how we reprimand our children

Spanking and punishing them

Instead of giving rewards

Despite their deviant behavior

That does not meet with our favour

I am amazed

At how we try to rob our children

Of their independence and uniqueness

Of the intrigues of this life 

Though seemingly weird

Classifying the same as strife

I am amazed

That we force church on our children

Making them angry and resentful

And then wonder

Why they are what they are

And with progressive minds not on par

I am amazed

That as we raise our children

That we cannot see eye to eye

With the proponents of the new ideologies

Their schisms and philosophies

Their tomfoolery and devilry

I am amazed

That in spite of having us for their parents

They are still blossoming and growing

They are radiant and glowing

They are reaping what they are sowing

Isn’t this mind blowing?

I am amazed

At the amazing strides

Our amazing communities are amazingly making

Because of our amazing children

And how amazingly

We have raised them

And if you are not amazed

Then I am amazed

That there are still

Some amazing old-fashioned parents

Numbered in an amazing minority

Who still have respect for God’s amazing authority

Our children still need our guidance

As they traverse life’s deceptive maze

We cannot afford to abandon them

As they process each critical phase

As amazing as it may seem

God still holds parents accountable

Even in this postmodern age

For raising up a godly people

Stewart Russell © 2017