Anger at God by Jessica Shaver

I told God I was angry,
I thought he’d be surprised
I thought I'd kept hostility
quite cleverly Disguised.

I told the Lord I hate Him;
I told Him that I hurt.
I told Him that He isn't fair'
He treated me like dirt.

I told God I was angry,
but I'm the one surprised.
"What I've known all along," He said,
"you've finally realized.

"At last you have admitted
what's really in your heart;
Dishonesty, not anger,
was keeping us apart.

"Even when you hate Me,
I don't stop loving you.
Before you can receive that love,
you must confess what's true.

"In telling Me the anger
you genuinely feel,
it loses power over you
permitting you to heal."

I told God I was sorry,
and He's forgiven me.
The truth that I was angry
had finally set me free.

Excerpt from Under His Wing by Patsy Claremont.

LIFE IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY

Life is like a butterfly.
Softly, softly,
One never knows why
It touches your cheek, then says, “Goodbye.”

Fragile and sweet, like blooming flowers
Life’s loves and trials last only the hours
That they touch your heart, then say, “goodbye”
Life is like a butterfly.

By Geraldine F. Reeves          El Paso, Texas.

There is a little flower

There is this little flower, which blooms when others die

And bravely lifts its little head towards the winter sky

And though it scarcely can be seen amid the sparkling snow

It's blooming there to cheer us, as on our way we go

And so in life's dark winter, when troubles come and go

Let us be like the snowdrops, blooming in the snow

Let's cheer each other onward, when days are full of strife

And brighten like the snowdrops, the darkest days of life.

Poem: by Joan Slater

A tribute to a Mother’s love

A mother is a wonderful creature constructed mostly of love,
and this she can express in a million ways. From hugs and kisses and good cooking,
and patient listening, to stern lectures, strict rules and repeated uses of the word ‘No’.

Like snowflakes, no two mothers are alike, but they have a number of things in common.
Name anything…a mother can be found washing it, polishing it,
getting rid of it, repairing it, packing it, teaching it, redecorating it, loving it or talking it over.

A mother cares for almost anything. Gardens, pets,
the state of the nation, the worn spot on the rug,
hungry people and, most of all, her husband and her children.
For these she will do anything, and fight for anything necessary to their happiness.

A mother is not always an angel. She will often disagree with you expect too much of you,
question your choice of friends, and bring up the subject of work
when you feel the least energetic.
But she’s always ready to help when you need her.

You don’t always tell a mother how much you love her,
or how much you hope the most wonderful things in the world will come to her,
because there are no words that express feelings so deep and sincere.
Somehow, though, you feel she understand what’s in your heart. Mothers always do.

Friends - by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Bit by bit, nevertheless, it comes over us
that we shall never again hear the laughter of our friend,
that this one garden is forever locked against us.

And at that moment begins our true mourning.
For nothing, in truth, can replace that companion.
Old friends cannot be created out of hand.

Nothing can match the treasure of common memories,
of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations
and generous emotions.
It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning,

to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak. So life goes on.
For years we plant the seed, we feel ourselves rich;
and them come other years when time does its work
and our plantation is made sparse and thin.
One by one, our friends slip away, deprive us of their shade. . . . . .

If I summon up those memories that have left with me an enduring savor,
if I draw up the balance sheet of the hours in my life that have truly counted,
surely I find only those that no wealth could have procured me.

True riches cannot be bought.

Things My Mother Taught Me

My Mother taught me LOGIC...
“If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can't go to the store with me."

My Mother taught me MEDICINE...
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to freeze that way."

My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD...
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job!"

My Mother taught me ESP...
"Put your sweater on; don't you think that I know when you're cold?"

My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE...
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you... Don't talk back to me!"

My Mother taught me HUMOR...
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me ABOUT SEX...
"How do you think you got here?"

My mother taught me about GENETICS...
“You are just like your father!"

My mother taught me about my ROOTS...
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE...
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...
"Just wait until your father gets home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING...
"You are going to get it when we get home."

And my all time favorite thing- JUSTICE

"One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like
YOU. Then you'll see what it's like."