A friend of mine was so good to remind me of John Milton's poem "On His Blindness" today. I found the words to be especially pertinent to things Ive struggled with in recent times, so I told her that I would have to post them on my blog. And so Im just keeping my word:
WHEN I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
I like the last line especially.
I also find the words of John Prine to be a good reminder during life's daily struggles. Things are never as bad as they seem:
That's the way that the world goes 'round!
you're up one day,
the next you're down!
it's half an inch of water
and you think you're gonna drown
that's the way that the world goes 'round.
I was sitting in the bathtub;
counting my toes!
when the radiator broke;
water all froze.
I got stuck in the ice
without my clothes,
naked as the eyes of a clown.
I was crying ice cubes
hoping I'd croak
when the sun come through the window,
the ice all broke!
I stood up and laughed,
thought it was a joke
that's the way that the world goes 'round.