If I had a nickel for every time I thought of you,
If I had a nickel for every time you made me smile,
If I had a nickel for each warm feeling your image brought to me,
If I had a nickel for each wonderful memory
That you gave to me over the years,
I still couldn’t be as rich as I am today,
Knowing that you are my friend, no matter what.
No matter what it seems,
No matter what it looks like,
No matter what happens,
No matter what has come between us,
No matter what life holds in store for us,
No matter what I wish I could change,
No matter what keeps us apart,
No matter what you or I do or say,
I love you, no matter what!
We were among the first farmers to plant honey crisp apples in Michigan a few years ago. Since then these wonderful apples have become a world wide favorite. We were so proud of these baskets of beautiful color.
I don’t believe in war.
Am I the only one?
I turn on the TV.
Earnest faced men and women debate the idea of war.
An eye for an eye.
A tooth for a tooth!
I’ll get you before you get me!
“We must make war to earn the peace.”
And all the while the innocents are dying.
Might makes right.
You are wrong, we are right.
We are defending our way of life.
I’d rather kill you in your country than you in mine.
You attacked me so I must attack you.
What do we do about it?
How do we stop people who hate us?
Do we ever think seriously about why they hate us?
Are we the policeman of the world?
Who gives us the right to be the “policeman”?
Who gives us the right to decide who is right and who is wrong?
And still the killing goes on.
If we kill enough of “them” will they stop trying to kill “us”?
Is their God protecting them as we believe our God is protecting us?
Is their God on their side as we believe our God is on our side?
How many Gods are there?
Maybe we should let the Gods battle it out
As people once believed so many years ago.
At least the children, the young mothers,
The stalwart young men wouldn’t be paying the price.
For every person killed, another vows revenge.
The war goes on.
I still don’t believe in war, and yet I am torn.
I don’t know the answer.
This was written during the Iraq war. It could have been today, in 2014. I still don’t have the answers.
Imagine a yearly reunion of 16 old friends today. They graduated from high school in a farming community 63 years ago. You might think this would be a pretty relaxed crowd. I didn’t know just what to expect myself. Looking at them, watching the I-Phones on display, listening to the animated discussions going on, you could be anywhere in any group of people. If this is what retirement is all about then we all should be so lucky! Don’t be afraid of time , dear bloggers, be happy for all of the people who are enjoying the fruit of their labor! It can be in your future too.
In the middle of the night
All of the little thoughts I have avoided all day
Come creeping into my head.
The nagging doubts, the “if only’s,”
The “I could have done that differently,” the “how come’s,”
The embarrassing things I did or the unselfish things I didn’t do,
The smile I didn’t give, or the impatience that I did,
The phone call or visit I was too busy to make,
Or everything that I wish I could change,
Comes creeping into my head in the middle of the night.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I say,
Tomorrow I’ll make it right.
Tomorrow I’ll write the letter, send the card, make the call.
Surely tomorrow I will do better than I did yesterday.
And I am caught in the middle of all of my good intentions
to do better, to love more, to hurry less, to stop and remember,
to trust easily, to avoid beating myself up.
In the middle of the night.
“Enjoy your day and pass it on!” Practical spirituality in spades, as the author asks us to remember who we really are, why we are here, and what is the function that we are meant to share. Reassurance, relationships, reflections, and renewal are the foundation of a harmonious and happy life. Speaking from the heart about a long and eventful life filled with all of the choices that it has brought, she reminds us that no matter where we go or what we do, it is ultimately ourselves that we must answer to. “No matter what” can be the most important phrase in our daily encounters with our friends and family.
Looking for You is a book about personal transformation, about how we react to the people around us, and how our innermost thoughts can bring about harmony with our inner Self. The warmth of knowing that you are in the right place at the right time, is a goal that is worth looking for. It is as close as closing your eyes, relaxing, and feeling the love that surrounds you. Looking For You by Verlie Rider will help you on your path.
I have a new vertical blind covering my window.
Today I realized it is like my life.
It can close out the light.
Turn it one way, the sun comes shining thru.
Lacy patterns of sunshine pour through the room
and reflect upon the walls.
Turn it the opposite, and I now have a darkened
room, restful on the eyes.
The reflections have disappeared.
In the darkness I can no longer see to read.
The blind is like my life.
When it is open, I can see clearly where I am needed.
Doorways open before me and I am not afraid.
When it is closed I am in a resting pattern, waiting.
When will I know which direction to follow?
How will I discover the right path for me?
Where is the light that leads me onward?
From Looking For You Verlie Rider 2012 Amazon
Today is the day!
Today is the day
I put it all behind me.
Today I banish the fears
That once haunted me.
I put them in a shiny red balloon
And watch them float away,
High in the sky, on their way to nowhere.
All of the things that laid my soul bare,
All are gone with the balloon in the wind.
Rising higher and higher
Until they vanish in the sunlight.
Gone as if they never had been,
And I am left with the love, the knowledge,
The presence, and the power of God.
Thank you, God, for red balloons!
From Looking For You, by Verlie Rider, 2012
I wrote this one a few years ago, and sometimes I still go back to it to remind myself that it is possible to put all of the bad stuff in one place and send it on to a different place. Everyone seems to have some “bad stuff” somewhere in their past. The happiest ones are those who have found a way to get past it.
so here I am, and I will start out with the first poem that I ever wrote. It was about 15 years ago, and I did it on the spur of the moment. A granddaughter was having problems in her teenage years, and no matter how much I wanted to help her, all I could do was send her love.
FILLED WITH HAPPINESS
Sitting here in my chair,
Counting my many blessings
Knowing that I am never alone
Knowing that I am enfolded in love
Knowing that my thoughts are
Winging their way to you,
I am filled with happiness.
Often after meditating I would pick up my pen and start to write. not always poems, many times it was just the thoughts going thru my mind. This went on for a long time, years in fact.
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