Be Wary Though Weary

 

 

 

I know we’re COVID weary:

It’s been around a while

And it continues to wreak havoc

For many a human mile.

 

As for me, I am tired

And wish it would go away

But even though I get COVID weary

I keep my guard up every day.

 

Stay COVID wary!

Be always on the look-out!

That COVID will be around a while

I have not the slightest doubt.

 

Stay COVID wary, I repeat,

Do not be weary in well doing,

Protect yourself and your fellowman

This advice is worth chewing.

 

There is doubt about vaccines

But little about the masks,

Therefore, adhering to this protocol

Should not be a difficult task.

 

I seldom hear a cough or sneeze

When I am out in public,

It appears that the common cold

Has speedily taken its exit.

 

 

One doctor explained to me

It’s because we are wearing masks

Therefore, because of this behavior

Flu viruses will not be passed.

 

He also highlighted hygiene

As in the washing of the hands,

As we continue to do this regularly

It will upset COVID’s plans.

 

Physical distance is not as easy

As the afore-mentioned two

But it’s an absolutely critical protocol

For each one of us to do.

 

I do believe these protocols

Indicate how wary we should be

And regarding their constant practice

Please do not grow weary.

 

 

These two words are synonyms

And they really sound alike

But please do not confuse the two

As we continue this COVID fight.

 

For if we weary in being wary

Then COVID will dominate

But if we be wary while being weary

COVID will disintegrate.

 

A word to the fully vaccinated:

Continue to wear your mask!

There is still a lot about COVID-19

That we are yet to grasp.

 

Stay COVID wary, I admonish,

Adhere to the protocols!

And until we are out of the woods

Put risky behaviours on stall.

 

Stewart Russell © August 17, 2021

 

Half Truth Is Whole Lie

 

 

I received this one today

Even though I knew it before,

But for some reason I cannot tell

It grabbed me even more.

 

I believe it was the Holy Spirit:

His timing is always on time

And I am fully convinced of this

Re how this impacts my mind.

 

“A little leaven,” the Word says,

“Leaveneth the whole lump.”

Hence, the use of half-truths to get by

Must certainly be debunked.

 

There is no darkness in light

For light dispels all darkness

But shadows you will definitely see

Because of light’s brightness.

 

In the same very way

The truth will show up a lie,

And wherever the slightest falsehood

It will be seen through truth’s eye.

 

 

Half-truth is a whole lie

Which makes half-truth a misnomer,

Half-truth really does not exist

Though some think it is clever.

 

There is no truth in a lie:

I know that will be hard to take

But when one passes off a lie as truth,

That one becomes a fake.

 

Half-truths do not exist

And neither do fake-truths

But given the direction in which we are headed,

People will present a false proof.

 

Stewart Russell © August 7, 2021

 

COVID Gone!

 

 

I dreamt that COVID had gone

And mask wearing was no more,

In a rush I got dressed

And hurried to the church door.

 

I had not darkened a church door

In exactly two years,

Just imagine the enquiring stares

When I suddenly appeared.

 

Everybody was rejoicing

That the dreaded COVID had gone

And there were smiles and hugs

Coming from everyone.

 

There were no more distinctions

Among the hundred strong

And everyone promised the other

They would try to get along.

 

No more fretting and complaining

COVID fallout was too hard,

Now that we were back together

We’d all start with a clean card.

 

 

No mask to impede our singing

Or need for physical distancing

Hence, we bundled ourselves together

And great was the rejoicing.

 

Some were bedecked in suits

Others in a casual shirt and pants,

The attire of the women also varied

But worship was enhanced.

 

The platform seemed a little nearer

And not nearly as high as before

And it was no different from the pew

All the way down to the door.

 

There was such wonderful accord

And the fellowship was sweet

And we listened intently to the Word

Despite the horrid heat.

 

 

COVID had left some scars

But many a lesson was learned,

We cherished the moments spent together

And each handshake was firm.

 

It began to feel like heaven

As we basked in the Spirit of Christ

And while we knew it was not heaven

The experience felt quite nice.

 

This dream was not an actual dream

But what I dream would happen

And the sooner COVID-19 disappear

The sooner my heart will be gladdened.

 

Stewart Russell © August 18, 2021

 

Simplify the Complex

 

 

What a weird theme!

That is for you to say

But ever since the COVID advent

We have lost our way.

 

“We are following the science”

The authorities constantly argue

But they that oppose also claim

“We are following it too.”

 

Both are following the science

And I am terribly confused

For the science I am hearing from both

Is of contrasting views.

 

It’s time to simplify this thing

For people like you and me

Who earnestly want to protect

Our friends and family.

 

 

When they are myriad opinions

The real news becomes lost,

So-called alternative facts surge

And only views come across.

 

The major is on the minors

The minors overrule the major,

Talk is the futile activity

With little significant labour.

 

Everybody has an opinion

Though as subjective as can be,

But of the objective and irrefutable-

The less of this we see.

 

Some say that the COVID virus

Was created in a lab,

Now that would give man god-status

And that would be very bad.

 

A virus is a form of life

And man cannot create life

So, to say that man created a virus

Is nothing short of strife.

 

Some say it originated in Wuhan

So, what can we do with that?

Even that appears to be an opinion

And an opinion is not a fact.

 

Much talk about the vaccine

To take or not to take,

Those that are for think it is effective

Those against believe it is fake.

 

Some say it is not a vaccine,

It does not guarantee immunity

While others say it’s an extra layer

In the fight against the enemy.

 

One thing that can’t be refuted

Is that we have a real pandemic,

And as the number of cases daily rise

There is the incidence of panic.

 

 

That COVID-19 is causing death

Only a fool would deny,

COVID-19 is as real as real can be

Just like mosquitoes and flies.

 

So, let’s set the record straight

And simplify the complex,

Let us straight talk about COVID

Regardless of who gets vexed.

 

It is almost two years now

And it is going nowhere fast,

Many have been the COVID victims

And many have also passed.

 

Around there is much dislocation

And many are unemployed,

And the attempts to thwart COVID

Are constantly being foiled.

 

It appears from where I sit

That the vaccine offers some respite,

The data show this relevant fact

Regarding this COVID fight.

 

So, it comes right down to a choice:

Whether to be ill or to die,

That the ill still has a fighting chance

I surely would not deny.

 

Fifty-one COVID deaths so far

Not one of these was vaccinated,

This strengthens my vaccine choice

Even if I am ill-fated.

 

For my wife sake I took it

When I was even less convinced,

So far so good, as I have heard say,

No repercussions since.

 

Still can happen, you’d likely say

But for me, it’s one day at a time,

Let’s wait and see and to conclude,

I won’t overload my mind.

 

Simplify the complex

Let us go with what we know:

Mask up, sanitize and physical distance

And a thought for others show.

 

Stewart Russell © September 6, 2021

 

Belated 100th Birthday, Mum White

 

It’s two days after the fact

But this deserves a mention,

Consequently, for the time being,

I give it my fullest attention.

 

It was May, 1969

That my brother took a wife,

This may surprise some people

But it need not cause any strife.

 

The wife that he now has

Is really his second wife

But this wife, and I mean Avice,

Was not always his pride of life.

 

His first wife was Selita-

She was a White from the Bridge Road,

She passed away in 1984

And that for Mac was quite a load.

 

This brings me to the fact

That I really want to highlight:

So, Congratulations to a precious lady!

Most call her Mum White.

 

 

  

On the 4^th of September

She celebrated her birthday,

Consequently, she is a centenarian-

Congrats one hundred ways!

 

Belated birthday greetings

To this precious mother-in-law

Who is still looking good, I must add,

Though old age brings a flaw.

 

I did not ask for permission

To put this out on Facebook

So, Yvette and Mac, please forgive me,

Don’t tell me I’m out of luck.

 

Belated Birthday, Mum White!

You have attained the mark,

Praise God you’ve reached 100!

Take guard for a new start!

 

Putting the 100 behind you

From one you can start again,

Then two and three and four and five

A super-centenarian in Jesus’ name.

 

Stewart Russell © September 6, 2021

 

 

The Sunday School Teacher

 

 

The Sunday School is the feeder

Of the local church,

This should be obvious to all;

One does not need an expert.

 

A church without a Sunday school

Is destined soon to die

And that its future is rather short,

One cannot seriously deny.

 

The key to any Sunday school

Is the Sunday school teacher

And these two must go hand in glove

Like an open-air and preacher.

 

 

 

Earliest exposure to Bible truths

Is absolutely necessary

And so, the Sunday school teacher

Facilitates this necessity.

 

“Train up a child,” the Bible says,

“In the way that he should go.”

How we need the Sunday school teacher!

By now all of us should know.

 

I was once privy to a document

Regarding the former Glendairy Prison

In which, of its prison population,

Were no Sunday school children.

 

 

 

Not a single Sunday school pupil

Had entered in those gates,

This was back in the nineteen nineties

The information then did state.

 

A survey had been conducted

Re: the impact of the Sunday school

And the evidence was strikingly clear

Even to a fool.

 

Even in these COVID-19 times

In which much teaching is online

No genuine effort should be spared

To impact our children’s mind.

 

More than ever they now need

The enduring Biblical truths,

The present surge in criminal activity

Is more than adequate proof.

 

Hence, the Sunday school teacher

Has to be a definite necessity

If we are to halt this devious trend

And curb this criminal hostility.

 

 

“Train up a child,” I must repeat,

“In the way that he should go.”

If no Sunday school teacher, my friend,

How are they to know?

 

Stewart Russell © September 5, 2021

 

Puzzled

 

 

The featured post on my blog

Has been unchanged for a while,

You would all know

That is not my style.

 

The reason for this, you see,

Is that I am still puzzled,

Five in a single year

Sounds more like a riddle.

 

What could we have done

To have altered that course?

Believe more, maybe trust more,

Prayer till we were hoarse?

 

Five in a single year

And every one a youth!

So where does this place us

Regarding God’s truth?

  

“Ask and it shall be given you”

“Seek and you shall find”

“Knock and it shall be opened”

Instantly comes to mind.

 

“Ask anything in my name”

And “only believe”

Believe that you already have it

And you will receive.

 

I trust you are now seeing

Why I am puzzled,

Five in a single year;

This must be a riddle.

 

All serving the Lord

Five wonderful individuals,

No trouble and no worry

All beautiful people.

 

Prayers for their protection

Yet two by the murder route,

Prayers for their healing

But three less of this group.

 

What is the use of praying

If our loved ones still die

Causing many sleepless nights

In which we just cry?

 

What more can one do

To reverse this trend?

If prayer doesn’t seem to work

What is there to defend?

 

Can we tell unbelievers

That our God is real

If our prayers ascend to heaven

And come back as fail?

 

We declare and decree

On the foundation of the Word

And when it does not happen

To the world it looks absurd.

 

We comfort the aggrieved

With “It’s going to be all right”

But what good is that

When theirs is all night.

 

Fast forward to this day

Where 2020 is being repeated

And the born-again believers’ pain

Is particularly deep-seated.

 

Hurting very deep down

And oft pretending to trust

But how ever hard they try

They still feel crushed.

 

Make some sense of this

I can hear them cry,

Lord, please tell us,

Why did you let our loved one die?

 

How can God comfort

If no situation merits His comfort?

And how can we grow

If there is never any woe?

The answers to some questions

We will never receive here

And it won’t matter afterwards

When we get over there.

 

Old things will all pass away

Everything will be new,

Old troubles will never bother us;

Neither me nor you.

 

We’ll be caught up with Jesus

And the home he has prepared,

There’ll be no loss of loved ones

Hence, no shedding of tears.

 

Until then

Take in the following verses,

They are required for life’s journey

No matter the courses.

 

 

Stewart Russell © September 3, 2021

 

A Real Nightmare

 

 

In the middle of the night

He woke with a fright,

A horrible nightmare

The reason for his fear.

 

At the time it felt so real

His complexion paled

And all he could do

Was sit up in bed, won’t you?

 

Afraid to go back to sleep

Since he wanted no repeat

He sat right there

Wishing morning to appear.

 

It was a funny thing though

If I may say so

In the middle of the night

That was a terrible plight.

That is a rather long wait

So, imagine his state

As he sat there on the bed

Just holding his head.

 

But nothing is mysterious

Even though serious,

Regarding one’s fear

After a horrible nightmare.

 

It is a natural fear

After having a nightmare

And I would even bet

There might be some cold sweat.

 

However, grab a hold of this

And don’t you dare miss

For if it were you I wonder,

What would you do?

When a nightmare is true

There is nothing one can do

And awaking from one’s sleep

Is a more dreaded repeat.

 

Whether asleep or awake

This nightmare was his fate,

It was on his mind all day

And asleep it won’t go away.

 

Thus, he awoke with fright

In the middle of the night

For the nightmare he had had

In reality was just as bad.

It is like a COVID dream

About this real COVID scene

Whether the real or the nightmare

One would be scared.

 

Stewart Russell © February 8, 2021

 

No Such Thing

 

 

There is no such thing

As living on borrowed time,

You can only live out your own;

You cannot live out mine.

 

However long you have

That’s what’s been allocated

And when that time is up

You will be terminated.

 

If you live to a hundred

All that time will be yours,

None of it will belong to another

You’ll be living your course.

 

 

Borrowed time? Not possible

Even in Hezekiah’s case,

That extra fifteen years

Was his in the first place.

 

There’s much to understand

And much that we never will

But get this, if nothing else,

Death is every one’s pill.

 

For some it’s an easy swallow

For others, not so easy at all,

Whatever the path life takes us

Someday death will call.

 

For all that went in infancy

That was their allotted time,

None will derive additional years

However much they opine.

There is no borrowed time

In this life, or that to come,

When we close our eyes in death

That’s when our time is done.

 

One or ten or one hundred:

Whether many years or a few.

When it’s time for that one to go

There is nothing he can do.

 

There is no such thing

As living on borrowed time,

You can only live out your own;

You cannot live out mine.

 

Stewart Russell © July 18, 2021