Just be yourself

quarta-feira, 31 de outubro de 2007

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart.
She must have been 6 years old,
this beautiful red haired,freckle faced image
of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over
the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth
it has no time to flow down the spout.

We all stood there under the awning and just
inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited,
some patiently, others irritated because nature
messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall.
I get lost in the sound and sight of the heaven washing away
the dirt and dust of the world.

Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a
child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve
from the worries of my day.

Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance
we were all caught in.

"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows
down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and
repeated:

"Mom,let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you
said this morning," the young girl said as she
tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we would run through the
rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to
Daddy about his cancer, you said,
'If God can get us through this,
he can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you
couldn't hear anything but the rain.
We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about
what she would say. Now some would laugh it off
and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore
what was said.

But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life.
A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will
bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run
through the rain. If God let's us get wet,
well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling
and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes,
through the puddles. They held their shopping bags
over their heads just in case. They got soaked.

But they were followed by a few who screamed and
laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did.
I ran.
I got wet.
I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your
material possessions, they can take away
your money, and they can take away
your health.

But no one can ever take away your precious
memories...So, don't forget to make time
to take the opportunities to make memories every
day!

To everything there is a season and a time to
every purpose under heaven.

Author unknown

If the Earth Had a Soul....

If the earth had a soul
(I've heard that it does)
How would she feel
To know that I've walked her hills
Climbed her rocks
Clawed for finger holds
In narrow crevices
Would she mind that I stopped in forest
To listen to the wind
Crackle through red autumn leaves
Felt them crumble
Beneath the soles of my feet
Would she understand
The gratitude I cannot speak
For holding deep to her heart
The dustings of they once dear to me
Now crumbled beneath steps of time
While I await what seems the slow
approach
Of our glad reunion, but which,
I being but a drop
And my life a half-breath
Will find me one instant
A soul of flesh and blood
And the next
A whip of dust
Drifting above fields of grain
Forgotten that once I thought and felt
Laughed and cried
Yearned for joy everlasting
Before I died

If the earth had a soul
(I know that it does)
Would it care that once I lived
And loved
Said my say
Bowed a white head
And went my way

Craig Franklin

Plant A Tree Beside My Grave....

Plant a tree beside my grave
One to grow tall, and to give me shade

Let its root grow deep and wide
To pierce my tomb, and the dust inside

Send the rain to green the grass
That my tree may drink is all I ask

Souls are Gods, flesh goes to earth
With the spirit fled, dust has no worth

But webs of root compass me
I'm kin to life, symbiote to tree

Water runs the roots like veins
And their leaves stretch out to touch the rains

Dust will have no thought of toil
Saturating rain turns dust to soil

Life flows through, though doesn't stay
I hold it until I give it away

Craig Franklin