Story Library

The Sunshine Poem

Backstory

Some of the stories you hear on Consider This are written by someone else. Mason Jars by Amy was featured recently and had a tremendous response from listeners and readers. This week, we feature another piece by a listener. I wonder if Suzanne will remember this poem, written decades ago. Listen in.

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The Sunshine Poem- #455

Suzanne sent in a little poem that she wrote on May 10, 1991. For whom was it written? See what you think. It goes like this –

Grant me a little bit of sunshine,
Promise me a little bit of hope.
Have faith in me,
Even though you might feel that I’m wrong.
For if you stand behind me,
I know I can be strong.
And if you stand beside me,
I know I can succeed.

A beautiful intercession showing someone how important they are to the writer. A cry for understanding and acceptance. The words seem to echo what we all desire from someone we care for.

Listen again and let the words sink in.

I don’t know for whom the poem was written. But I can tell the person must be special to be called on to play such an important role In the life of the writer.

It was written more than 20 years ago. I hope Suzanne went on to write out more such thoughts. They are well worth considering

P.S.

Musing on Suzanne’s poem, I hope that the person she addressed did indeed stand behind her and beside her. It sounds like that person gave her strength and confidence. What a blessing to have someone like that in your life. I hope Suzanne was so blessed.

[Show #455]

You Can’t Recover

Backstory

I longed for a do-over. If only I could be given one more chance to make it right, I would do things so differently. But that privilege was denied. I was stuck with the action I had taken. No do-over. Never. It made me think of the times when you just don’t get a second chance. This week’s story is about those times.

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You Can’t Recover- #454

There are five things that you cannot recover in life:
          1. The Stone…after it’s thrown,
          2. The Word…after it’s said,
          3. The Occasion…after it’s missed,
          4. Time…after it’s gone,
          5. Loved ones …after they die

Yet we are so quick and willing to waste each of these precious commodities. It’s like we think they’ll always be there. And they won’t.

When something goes wrong, the stone of blame is thrown so quickly, often before the facts are known.

And the word – oh, the angry word that can’t come back after it’s said. Pray for the wisdom to take a breath when you are angry. Measure your words before they are said. The wrong words can live a lifetime with the one who hears them.

Then there are the occasions. If the occasion is special to someone you love, it should be special to you. Be there. It matters.

And when you decide how to spend your time, remember that no graveyard headstone ever said, “I wish I spent more time in the office.”

Spend it with those you love – particularly the young, and the old. Share stories. Create memories. Give generously of your time to those you love. They are not here forever – and neither are you.

P.S.

Second best is making up for one of the items you cannot recover. Sometimes you get the chance to admit your error, apologize and try to move on. Such a very poor alternative. Spend your time making sure you don’t commit these sins, rather than making up for them.

[Show #454]

Incorrect

Backstory

I had just concluded another shouting match with my computer, one sided though it was, over whether my password was correct. Surely my steel-trap mind was more accurate than this arrogant pile of desktop technology.

Well, I guess not. So I forgot that dot in the middle, or the exclamation point looked like a capital I. Surely there could be a little forgiveness.

Not in my digital world – or yours. Out of this frustration came today’s story of abject disillusion with the complexities of our modern world.

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Incorrect- #453

It was a cartoon that circulated on the Internet. One elderly lady is saying to the other, “Mildred, my memory sucks these days. So when I’m on the internet and it asks me to choose a password, I choose the word – INCORRECT. Then when I can’t remember my password, the computer will tell me, ‘Your password is INCORRECT.’ “

Well, I’m not too sure that will work. But it sure is a challenge to remember all those user names and passwords. I would use the same one so I could remember them all, But of course the gurus are horrified at that concept for security reasons.

Even if I wanted to, it seems that each website has a different set of rules. So many letters, so many numbers.

I have a list of passwords an arm long – but of course I dare not tell you where I keep it. That’s such a good secret that I sometimes I forget its location myself.

And how about those codes you have to type in to prove you are a human. Most of the time, I can’t make them out, let alone type them in.

Remember back when you communicated by dialing numbers on a phone? Today, they give classes – beginner and advanced – to teach you how to use your smart phone. How smart can it be if I need hours of instructions just to figure it out?

Will things EVER be simple again?

P.S.

I wonder if Mildred’s friend ever got to use “INCORRECT” as her password. Going on to another of our digital world’s miracles, I saw a reminder of how we defriended fellow classmates when we were in high school. You scratched their face out of your class yearbook. That was back when things were – SIMPLE.

[Show #453]

Teen role model

Backstory

I was so impressed when I met this young lady. She had started a program for teens to mentor younger children and she was at the Rotary Club meeting to tell us about it. So poised, so self confident. We stayed and talked, after the meeting. I decided to introduce her to you.

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Teen Role Model – #638

A high school senior was telling me recently about the responsibilities she feels being a role model in school. This young lady is her class president. She is an officer in Future Farmers of America, a leader in 4H.

She said that as she built up these credentials, her mother warned her, “There is always someone watching.” She said that thought guides her with the realization that she is a role model.

Fellow students see her lead and achieve. They would also see if she did wrong.

When she is tempted to gossip or experiment wrongly, she considers how she would feel if someone was watching and was led to do likewise, following her bad example. She accepts responsibility for the image she projects.

Obviously she was brought up in a home where the right values were stressed.

And she is determined to uphold those values, not just in public, but in private.

In this age of bullying and blame, it is truly refreshing to hear this young lady standing straight.

Hats off to the millions of young adults who stay the course and do the right thing.

You don’t hear about them often enough. They are out there, doing good and being kind. As they become leaders, our future is in good hands.

P.S.

The young lady received a Rotary Club scholarship. It was just one of many acknowledgements and awards she accumulated before leaving high school. We’ll be watching her college adventures for more leadership. She is prone to help make the world a better place.

[Show #638]

What Are You Waiting For?

Backstory

It didn’t happen just like that. There was a lot leading up to it. Joan had been in the presence of my fiancé and me for years – on vacations, on outings and at home. She was a careful observer. Now, it turns out, she was about to become a tentative adviser as well.

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What Are You Waiting For? – #639

What are you waiting for? That’s what Joan asked me. She had sat me down and said we had to have a serious talk. Bill and I had been engaged for some eight years. When I accepted his engagement ring, we both considered ourselves committed, one to the other. And that was that.

But Joan, who had been married for decades, pointed out that there is a difference.

She pointed out that my fiancé had never been married. She believed he would thrive in the status of being husband to a wife he loved. She wisely pointed out that we were not getting any younger. But I just saw no need for a big event and a lot of hoopla and spending money and bothering people to come together to celebrate. At our age, it seemed anti-climactic.

That’s when she took my hand and gave me her best advice. She said, “You are talking about the wedding. I am talking about being married. It’s two very different things.”

She pointed out that every day that passed was a day that we were not enjoying the definitive commitment, the ultimate allegiance. She said we owed it to each other to experience that. She strongly advised that I allow Bill to put the other ring on it.

I took to heart, everything she said. And decided she was right.

P.S.

Joan had said that seeing Bill happily married was on her bucket list – something she wanted to see happen before her time was up. She had known him for some 30 years. Long before I was on the scene. She was so pleased to check that off her bucket list. Another item on the list was a trip to Tuscany. She marked that one off too. She died in her sleep, the day after her return.

[Show #639]

Age of Maturity

Backstory

What is life all about? Writing the Consider This shows, I think about that. I watch out for what others are saying; sometimes the sages, sometimes wise old folks, sometimes innocent youngsters. One of my favorite musers of life is poet and memoirist Maya Angelou. You will find her quoted in this week’s story.

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Age of Maturity – #635

I’ve been trying to figure out if I have reached the age of maturity. What is that age? I believe it to be the point at which one is still young enough to perform, but is much more resourceful.

In the eyes of youth, there glows a flame. In the eyes of maturity, there shines a light. It’s a status earned by the baby boomers. Seems to apply to folks in their sixties and seventies who still have the vigor, if not the stamina. We are more accepting, less relentless. You might say we go from passion to compassion.

When you’re past 60, there are fewer things that we think are absurd. We’ve seen it all – or so we think – until the next mind-blowing occurrence reminds us that we are still in the game.

One thing we have learned for sure – nothing passes by as quickly as the years.

Things change as time passes.

Young people travel in groups; adults travel in pairs; old people walk alone.

The point of it all is to LIVE those years, not just accumulate them.

I like the way Maya Angelou put it. She said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

P.S.

Maya Angelou was quoted in this week’s story. Here is another of her quotes that obviously comes from a state of delightful maturity. She said, I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Amen.

[Show #635]

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