Words...

For You

by Horace 2007 (www.bcpals.org.uk)

You are a stranger
I never saw your face
You are my friend
I share your pain
In this new and scary place.

You are a stranger
I only know your name
You hold my hand
Share my waiting
Tell me we are just the same.

You are a stranger
I haven't heard your voice
You know my worries
Speak my language
When to cry and when rejoice.

You're not a stranger
Neighbour, sister, friend
You're a woman
We're together
Right up to this journey's end.

Tomorrow Never Comes

by Anon

If I knew it would be the last time

That I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly

and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time

that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss

and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time

I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word,

so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,

I could spare an extra minute

to stop and say "I love you,"

instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time

I would be there to share your day,

well I'm sure you'll have so many more,

so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow

to make up for an oversight,

and we always get second chance

to make everything just right.

There will always be another day

to say "I love you,"

And certainly there's another chance

to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,

and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you

and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

young or old alike,

And today maybe the last chance

you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomrrow,

why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes,

you'll surely regret the day.

That you didn't take that extra time

for a smile, a hug or a kiss

and you were too busy to grant someone,

what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,

and whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them

and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"

"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's OK."

And if tomorrow never comes,

you'll have no regrets about today.

I Am Just a Tree
by Mary E. Carpenter

Sometimes when I am walking through this forest we call life, I realize that I am the tree sprouting from the boulder on the mountainside. Everyone wonders how it is possible that tree survived. They stop and look in astonishment as they hike up the mountain and see the tree thriving there, its roots seemingly embedded in the boulder. They wonder what kind of odds that tree beat to live. They stare and take pictures. They circle the tree and look on in curiosity. They bend down low and touch the cracks and crevices that gradually came to be as the tree grew testing the strength of the boulder. They whisper in hopes that the tree does not hear. They study the bark. They leave the tree behind as they continue on their journey, glancing back every now and then to take another peek until they disappear into the forest.

They become part of the landscape on the horizon. They are a part of the mountain complete. They do not stand out. They share a commonality and the earth where their roots all intertwine. The trees have different leaves and heights and shapes there, but nothing in particular stands out. They are just ordinary trees going about the business of living and growing. They still speak in hushed tones about the tree in the boulder sometimes. Occasionally, they venture back that way again; stopping to stare once again. They know that tree has been altered by life.

The winds carry the murmurs of the forest and the boulder tree knows. It hears the echoes in the silence of the gawking from the trail. It knows the forest sees the disfigurement caused by its pushing through the boulder to grow. It knows the forest bends low in sympathy. It knows how differently it is viewed. It knows growing through the boulder was necessary to survive.

Yet, it just wants to be. It wants to be a part of the forest and not have them gape. It doesn’t want to hear the whispers that blow back to it. It doesn’t seek the pictures or the studies of its bark. It yearns for normalcy as it stares at the sun. It wants to resume its journey and head down the trail. It wants to be recognized for just what it is. Although growing through a boulder is how it came to be, it wants it known . . . I, too, am just a tree.

Smiles Cost Nothing

by Anon (long time favourite of mine)
A smile costs nothing, but gives a lot.

It enriches those who receive it without making poorer those who give it.

A smile takes only a moment, but the memory of it can last forever.

No one is so rich, or so mighty, that they can get a long without a smile.

And no one is so poor that they cannot be made richer by a smile.

A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business and is the

counter sign of friendship.

A smile brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the

sad and is nature's best cure for trouble

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen
for it is of no value to anyone until it is given away.

Some people are too tired to give a smile so give them one of yours as no one needs a smile so much as he who has no more of his own to give.

God saw she was getting tired

by Anon (for all my sisters who didn't make it - miss you)

God saw she was getting tired
And a cure was not to be.
So He put His arms her
And whispered, “Come with Me.”

With tearful eyes we watched
Her suffer
And saw her fade away
Although we loved her dearly,
We could not make her stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only took the best.

Poem

by Audrey Hepburn

For attractive lips,
speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,
share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,
let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise,
walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

You Must Never Forget
by Mary E Carpenter
You are loved,
More than the heavens.
Cherished,
More than the seas.

More beautiful
Than butterflies -
Carried
On the breeze.

Brighter
Than the sunshine.
More precious
Than gold.

Laughter
In the darkness,
And a blessing
To behold.

Going Home

by Anon (for Lynda Swaim)

Go rest now precious one,
Your life in eternity has just begun.
Now you can walk, your legs are brand
new.
All of heaven is now in your view.

Look all around, it's all in your sight,
There will never be another dark night.
Flowers and jewels, the street of pure gold,

and all of the things that have been told.

I can just imagine the smile on your face

as you walk all around in that beautiful place.
Greeting our loved ones as you walk along,

while singing heaven's most beautiful song.

This is so very hard,but it will all be okay,

it isn't goodbye,we'll see you one day.
We love you and we'll miss you and at times it will be tough,

but as with everything,God's grace will be enough

Anna Wallace

My journey... so far