Oliver Manning, my patient, was short in stature but had a giant heart and mind. I took care of this wonderful man and his wife for many years. Before age took over his memory, he wrote many instructive poems that I often heard him recite. As you read his poetry I ask you to “listen to the elders.”
FEELING IMPORTANT
Sometimes when you are feeling important,
Sometimes when your ego’s in bloom,
Sometimes when you take it for granted,
That you are the best qualified in the room.
Sometimes when you feel that your going will leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction, and see how it humbles the soul.
Take a bucket, fill it with water,
Put you hand in it, up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that remaineth,
will give you an idea of how much you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please as you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you will see in a moment,
That it looks the same as before.
The morale in this quaint example is to do the best that you can. Think well of yourself, but remember, there is no indispensable man or woman! I hope you get the message, for I surely did.
WHEN TROUBLE COMES AND THINGS GO WRONG
Let us go quietly to God
when trouble comes to us.
Let us never stop to whimper
or complain and fret and fuss.
Let us hide “our thorns” in “roses”
and our sighs in “golden song”
And your “crosses” in a “crown of smiles”
whenever things go wrong.
For no one can really help us
as our troubles we bemoan.
For comfort, help and inner peace
must come from God alone.
So do not tell your neighbor,
your companion or your friend
In the hope that they can help you
bring your troubles to an end.
For they too, have their problems,
they are burdened just like you.
So take your cross to Jesus
and He will see you through.
And waste no time in crying
on the shoulders of a friend,
But go directly to the Lord
for on Him you can depend.
For there’s absolutely nothing
that His mighty hand can’t do,
And He never is too busy
to help and comfort you.
As you know, God is the great physician. I hope that this wisdom will enrich your life as it has mine.
ALL MIXED UP
Just a line to say I’m living
That I’m not among the dead,
Tho’ I’m getting more forgetful
And more mixed up in my head.
For sometimes I can’t remember
When I stand at the foot of the stairs,
If I must go up for something
or I’ve just come down from there.
And before the “fridge” so often
My mind is filled with doubt.
Have I just put food away or
Have I come to take it out?
And there are times when it is dark out
With my nightcap on my head,
I don’t know if I’m retiring
or just getting out of bed.
So, if it’s my turn to write you
There is no need for getting sore.
I may think that I have written
And I don’t want to be a bore.
So, remember, I do love you
And I wish that you were here,
But now it’s nearly mail time so
I must say “Good-bye dear.”
There I stood beside the mailbox
With a face so very red.
Instead of mailing your letter
I have opened it instead!
