Motivational Poetry

Author Unknown

I was sitting on a bench
while in a nearby mall,
When I noticed a young mother
with two children who were small.

The youngest one was whining,
“Pick me up,” I heard him beg
but the mother’s face grew angry
as the child clung to her leg.

“Don’t hang on to me,” she shouted
as she pushed his hands away,
I wish I’d had the courage
to go up to her and say…

“The time will come too quickly
when those little arms that tug,
Won’t ask for you to hold them
or won’t freely give a hug.

“The day will sneak up subtly
just as it did with me,
When you can’t recall the last time
that your child sat on your knee.

“Like those sacred, pre-dawn feedings
when we cherished time alone
Our babies grow and leave behind
those special times we’ve know.

“So when your child comes to you
with a book that you can share,
Or asks that you would tuck him in
and help him say his prayer…

“When he comes to sit and chat
or would like to take a walk,
Before you answer that you can’t
`cause there’s no time to talk

“Remember what all parents learn
so many times too late,
That years go by too quickly
and that childhood doesn’t wait.

“Take every opportunity,
if one should slip away
Reach hard to get it back again,
don’t wait another day.”

I watched that mother walk away
her children followed near,
I hope she’ll pick them up
before her chances disappear

Author Unknown

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried.
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate.
And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say wait!” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I’m needing a ‘Yes’ or a go-ahead sign,
Or even a “No” to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised, that if we believe
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate.
As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, “So I’m waiting~ For what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine
And he tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All that you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be
You would have what you want~~But you wouldn’t know me.

You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint;
You’d not know the power I give to the faint;
You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust by just knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of my spirit, descends like a dove;
You’d know that I give and I save~(For a start)

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of my heart
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God that makes what you have LAST.

You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Yes, your dreams for your loved one, overnight would come true,
But, Oh the loss if I lost what I’m doing in you!!

So be silent, my child, and in time you shall see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though ‘oft may my answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.”

When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking
Written by a former child

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me
and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
I heard you say a prayer,
and I knew there is a God I could always talk to
and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick,
and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing
and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don’t.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it
and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw how you handled your responsibilities,
even when you didn’t feel good
and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw that you cared
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I learned most of life’s lessons that I need to know
to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I looked at you and wanted to say,
“Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.”

Author Unknown

A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day and feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was inquiring of the older preacher. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher, while trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the WILL OF GOD for his life and for his ministry. Because of his high respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to TRY to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact…

It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible it was to do so. Noticing the younger preacher’s inability to unfold the rosebud while keeping it intact, the older preacher began to recite the following poem…

Unfolding The Rose

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?

So I’ll trust in Him for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me,
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.

Author Unknown

I can do all things through Christ
Who strengthens me.
The road to success is not straight.
There is a curve called Failure;
a loop called Confusion;
speed bumps called Friends;
red lights called Enemies;
caution lights called Family.
You will have flats called Jobs.
But, if you have a spare called Determination;
an engine called Perseverance;
insurance called Faith,
and a driver called Jesus,
you will make it to a place called Success!

It’s In the Valley’s I Grow
by Jane Eggleston

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan’s loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it’s in the valleys I grow!

The Beauty Of Jesus In Me
by Alice Hansche Mortenson

My life touched your life for a very brief space,
And what, oh, what did you see?
A hurried, a worried and anxious face,
Or the beauty of Jesus in me?

Was I steeped so deep in the ways of the world
That you couldn’t direct one thing
That would set me apart and show that my heart
Belonged to the Heavenly King?

Did I carry no banner for Jesus my Lord,
Not one thing at all that could show
Whose side I am in this glorious fight?
I am His! But you couldn’t know.

Forgive me! And if we should e’er meet again
Upon earth, oh, I pray you will see
No mark of this world, but His banner unfurled,
And the beauty of Jesus in me!

This is really worth reading!

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was felt that she had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, they found this poem.

Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland. The old lady’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North Ireland Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on her simple, but eloquent, poem…And this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the authoress of this “anonymous” poem winging across the Internet. Goes to show that we all leave “SOME footprints in
time”…..

An Old Lady’s Poem
Author Unknown from Scotland Nursing Home

What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking when you’re looking at me?
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles her food and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice, “I do wish you’d try!”
Who seems not to notice the things that you do,
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe….

Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill…
Is that what you’re thinking?
Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse; you’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I’m a small child of ten…
With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters,
Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen, with wings on her feet,
Dreaming that soon now a lover she’ll meet.

A bride soon at twenty–my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now, I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide and a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man’s beside me to see I don’t mourn.

At fifty once more, babies play around my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead;
I look at the future, I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old woman….and nature is cruel;
‘Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I’m loving and living life over again.

I think of the years….all too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurses, open and see,
Not a crabby old woman; Look closer…see ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will one day be there, too! To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world!

Reflections of a Mother (or Father)
Author Unknown

I gave you life,
but cannot live it for you.
I can teach you things,
but I cannot make you learn.
I can give you directions,
but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom,
but I cannot account for it.
I can take you to church,
but I cannot make you believe.
I can teach you right from wrong,
but I cannot always decide for you.
I can buy you beautiful clothes,
but I cannot make you beautiful inside.
I can offer you advice,
but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love,
but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share,
but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect,
but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends,
but cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex,
but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you the facts of life,
but I cannot build your reputation.
I can tell you about drink,
but I cannot say “no” for you.
I can warn you about drugs,
but I cannot prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals,
but I cannot achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness,
but I cannot force you to be gracious.
I can warn you about sins,
but I cannot make you moral.
I can love you as a child,
but I cannot place you in God’s family.
I can pray for you,
but I cannot make you walk in God.
I can teach you about Jesus your Lord.
I can tell you how to live,
but I cannot give you eternal life.