Quote from Forum Archives on May 10, 2004, 8:58 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

The Fishing Trip 

 

 

Hi there, Mr. God.

It's me, little Andy, again.

I was sick, yesterday.

Didn't you wonder where I been?

 

Mamma says it's spring fever

And she says daddy's got it, too.

You take good care of yourself, here,

So I won't pass it on to you.

 

I'll stand away, a bit,

So I won't be 'tagious.

Daddy says we're goin' fishin',

That that would be good for us.

 

Do you wanna come along?

We got hot dogs, chips, and soda pop.

We'll build a fire and stuff, and

Have marshmallows with chocolate on top.

 

I was jest wonder'n,

Could you bring grandpa along?

He wouln' have to do any of the work,

Cuz I know he isn't very strong.

 

Daddy says he's all better, now,

Since He went to your house to stay.

Grandpa really loves fishin' and

We haven't been since he went away.

 

Grandpa took me, last year,

Mr. God.  We had so much fun

And we ate the fish we got, and

We laid on a blanket ~ in the sun.

 

Do you and Jesus go fishin'?

Grandpa can teach you how, if you ask him.

He's an expert, daddy says.

He says Jesus is a fisher of men.

 

Now, I don't know about that.

But, if daddy says so, then it's true.

Are the men in a boat, or what?

S'pose it's differ'nt, up there, with you.

 

Well, I hope He gets lots of men, Mr. God,

So as they won't drown.

They need to learn to swim, I guess,

'Fore they go near the water and mess around.

 

Daddy says we need to be like Jesus

And be fishers of men.

 

Hey, Mr. God, how do I do that?

I can hardly bring a little fish in.

 

But, if I see any guys in the lake,

I'll throw them my life jacket.

Prob'ly have to let daddy.  He can

Toss further, so they can get it.

 

Oh, Mr. God, gramps never

Told me all about that.

We never saw any guys

Where we were fishin' at.

 

 But, I'll keep a watch out,

Jest in case we do,

And, after we fish them out,

We'll send them on to you.

 

I sure wish grandpa was here,

This year, he was gonna teach me

How to bait my own hook and stuff,

And I could sit on his knee.

 

I guess daddy will do that, now,

Since grandpa's busy help'n Jesus.

 

Don't tell him we've been sick,

Else he'll worry bout us.

'Sides, mamma says we'll feel better

If we go fishin', today

Says we'll come back feel'n good.

Daddy says, "Yes dear, any thing you say."

 

Well, Mr. God, daddy's ready.

Maybe you could come over late;

That is, if you can.

If Jesus wants to fish for fish,

When He gets 'em,

He can cook 'em in our pan.

 

Well, Mr. God, Sir, tell every one 'hi

An that I love 'em all'.  I sure do.

Well, daddy's honkin' the horn, to go.

It was nice a talkin' to you.

 

Bye, for now.

Little Andy

© 2004 by Sandra Griffin

 

 

 

The Great Three Things

 

 

Three things to be      - pure, just and honest

 

Three things to govern  - temper tongue and conduct

 

Three things to have    - courage, affection and gentleness

 

Three things to love    - the wise, the virtuous and the innocent

 

Three things to commend - thrift, industry and promptness

 

Three things to despise - cruelty, arrogance and ingratitude

 

Three things to attain  - goodness of heart, integrity of purpose and cheerfulness

 

 

Reaching For The Clouds 

 

It started with a taco. She wanted us to bring her one, and at 11:00
am, I thought at some point during the day we`d make it over with a
taco and a good visit. Merrym is my friend. I love her dearly, but I
also admire her more than any human being I know. She doesn`t
know this , she thinks I just bring her smoothies and fast food
because I`m a kind soul. What she doesn`t know is that she lifts my
spirit and every moment with her brings new lessons in Life and a
friendship that is forever.

 

Merrym is my age, 39. I look at me and I think 39 is old. I look at
Merrym and I think it is so very young to be where she is.

 

In her twenties, Merry contracted the flesh-eating bacteria. It ate
away most of the muscles in her right leg. The medication she was
given caused her to have a stroke. In one fell swoop, a beautiful, 
spirited young woman with two small children, lost her ability to
walk, talk and use her limbs. She endured hell on earth just to get
to baby steps and a modicum of functionality.

 

I met her long after all this. She was in a wheelchair, had brown
sparkling eyes and slurred speech that I could tell frustrated
her because she was so incredibly intelligent and witty, but the
stroke took away the ability to convey that easily. It didn`t stop
her though. Over time I got to know her and she stole my heart. In
everything she attempted, she was unstoppable. She was the most
enthusiastic worshipper at church, she was funny, determined and a
little nutty. I loved her.

 

It is now years after Merrym and I first met and several months ago
she had her leg amputated after infection set in. I wasn`t even
there, I didn`t even know. I had gotten so caught up in my own life
that I let our friendship fall by the wayside. A couple of months
after this happened, she called and told me. I felt like the biggest
jerk on earth that I hadn`t been there for her.

 

Our friendship has since grown closer and a few weeks ago I got a
call that stopped my heart. She was in the hospital again, with
another infection in what was left of her leg and I heard something
in her voice that I had never heard before. Fear. It took a lot to
scare that woman, so it scared me right to my core.

 

Prayers were said far and wide. A lot of people love Merrym, so the
prayers were many and they were strong. Slowly Merrym began to heal.
That was the good news. The bad news was that now she had to be
moved to a nursing home until she was strong enough to go home. The
nursing home is icky and gross and she is by far the youngest person
there.

 

Determined not to let her down again, I visit often and we laugh and
thoroughly enjoy our time together. Today I called and asked her
what she wanted to eat (nursing home cuisine is NOT taco Bell.) and
she asked for a taco.

 

The day got away from us and one errand turned into several and the
hours slid by as the snow storm hit hard. Seeing cars off the
road in several places, I told my husband I thought we should just
go home and could see Merrym "later". Giving me a look that told me
I was being a lousy friend, he told me we were going and that was
that.

 

With our arms filled with Taco Bell bags and drinks, my family
crowded into Merrym`s small room and the look of joy on her face as
she sat in her wheelchair, waiting, made my throat catch at the
thought that I had almost let her down. Again.

 

"Yay!" she greeted us with open arms, as usual. She is so loving, so
jubilant, it`s always like walking into spring time.

 

It was then that I remembered why she was waiting for us. It wasn`t
for the taco, which she quickly set aside. I settled down on the
extra bed in her room and waited as she reached down to turn on her
CD player, next to her wheelchair. It seemed that it too, was
waiting for us to arrive.

 

I felt ashamed as I remember her telling me about the song she was
going to perform at her church in sign language. Sign language
for my Noah, who is deaf. She works on her signing skills more than
anyone who knows Noah and it is simply because she loves him. She
wanted to try her song out for us and had been waiting all day to do
this.
Now I felt like an even bigger jerk.

 

The music began, sweet, soothing and a stillness filled the room.
I felt goosebumps on my arms as the spirit of God`s peace settled
over us like a soft blanket. Beautiful lyrics sung by a Christian
group played and Merrym raised her arms and began to sign the song
based on Psalm 36.

 

"The mercy oh Lord is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reaches
unto the clouds. We put our trust under the shadow of Your
wings."
As I watched her sign the song, my eyes filled with tears. It was
truly beautiful. Merrym`s fingers stiff and unbending, she signed
with
all her heart and utter humility. It was a song sent up to Heaven. I
sat in silence, tears pouring down my face and a peek at my
husband told me he was crying too. The children were mesmerized. It
was a magical, incredible, unforgettable moment.

 

I watched Noah, all of six years old, and already he realized not
many  people in his world know his language. "Merrym is signing!" 
he signed to me, his blue eyes wide.

 

I grinned at my golden boy and watched as my dear, sweet friend
leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she let the music guide
her signing. She looked exactly like an angel. Every time her
fingers tried to interlace for the sign of "prayer", I cried a
little harder.
It was so hard for her to do. Her fingers don`t bend much, from the
stroke she had, yet there she was, fiercely focused, signing her
song in a purely selfless gift.

 

I was sobbing by the time the song finished and leapt up to wrap my
arms around her. Our whole family circled her wheelchair in hugs and
tears. It was a precious moment that I will forever hold in my heart.

 

Merrym teaches me so much. The scriptures written on the little
chalk board in her room help her keep her faith and spirits up. She
sets goals for herself on a continual basis to keep herself from
getting depressed. She struggles ten times harder than I do in
simple daily things and her joy in life and in people is awesome.
Her fight is always uphill. It always will be. But her spirit is
stronger, more valiant, more faithful than anyone I know. She will
always be reaching for the clouds. And always under the shadow of
His wings.

 

 

Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara

  

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