[Faith-talk] {Spam?} Sunny Day by James Kisner

[Paul Smith]

Hello and greetings to all my readers out there.  Hope your day is 
going well, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

At the subliminal suggestion of someone last evening, I'm going to send 
you the following meditative poem.  I'll just say that the natural 
descriptions found herein matched the feelings I had during a morning 
when at Beacon Lodge Camp for the Blind, located several miles from 
Mount Union PA in the hills and mountains of the central part of the 
Keystone State, about an hour by either train or car from the state 
capital of Harrisburg.  Those of you who have been there will 
undoubtedly recognize what was written herein.  The only difference 
between the poem and my experience was the fact that the poet talks 
about a lake, whereas I was on the bank of a little stream that flows 
into the Juniata River.  Read below to find out what I mean.

He walks along the narrow path
That leads down to the lake,
To find his old secluded place
Where he can meditate.
When he is feeling lonely
Or when he is feeling down,
He knows that it is quiet there
And no one else is around.

So many times he's made this trip
When he gets in this mood,
It is the only place he knows
To find some solitude.
It matters not what time of day
Or what time of the year,
Never has he ever seen
Another person here.

Maybe it's too hidden
Or the path may be too slim,
He sometimes thinks the only one
Who knows of it is him.
People are around the lake;
He sees them from this place,
But maybe no one knows about
His special little space.

There was a time when someone else
Would share these special times,
Sitting on teh bank with him
While shaded by the pines.
This had been their special place,
A special hideaway,
Where they would bring a picnic lunch
And just enjoy the day.

They would sit for hours
And enjoy the summer breeze,
And they would come in autumn
To enjoy the changing leaves.
Just some quiet time alone
To talk and laugh for hours,
This is how they took the time,
To stop and smell the flowers.

Now he sits here all alone and thinks about the past,
Realizing life goes on and things in life don't last.
All is temporary as we live from day to day,
What we held so dear in life
May soon just fade away.

He thinks about the headlines
That are spread across the news,
He thinks of all the things we have
And all that we could lose.
He thinks of all the tension
In the lives of those today,
But then he thinks it's nothing new,
It's always been that way.

Every generation always had
A cross to bear,
Even in this country's past
A threat was always there.
But somehow this seems different
In a world of vast turmoil,
Maybe it's because the threat
Is here on our own soil.

He throws a pebble in the lake
And ripples circle out,
He is confused by many things
But knows without a doubt,
Life is never constant, it brings happiness and sorrow,
Maybe that's why it says
"Take no thought for tomorrow."

He thinks of all his yesterdays
With those he chose to love,
Some have left and gone away
While some have gone above.
Some have left sweet memories
That will linger on for years,
While others left the memories
That will always bring on tears.

He turns to leave his special place,
His meditating done,
Down his special little path
Before the setting sun.
The sun shines brightly through the trees
While shadows rearrange,
He realizes like the shadows,
Life will always change.

Nothing we can ever do
Can change things in the past,
And the plans we have tomorrow
Surely will not last.
Life is always changing
And it's always been that way,
But he looks up and feels the warmth;
The sun shines bright today.

And there you have today's poem.  Oh yes, I know that earlier I said 
that we'd do a little thing called "Alphabet of Happiness," but 
sometimes other things take precedence over others.  Lord willing, 
tomorrow we'll give you the alphabet of happiness contribution.

And that will do it for today.  Until tomorrow when, Lord willing the 
above item will be posted, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just 
keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in 
which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul