I hope you enjoyed my first Triple Shadorma poem that was inspired by encountering this little leaf. I dedicate this poem to all the elderly people who are now in nursing homes or care centers living out their lives perhaps in loneliness, hopelessness, or feeling no one cares. This little leaf I saw today reminded me of them.
This leaf reminded me to stop in the middle of my busy life to think of ways to reach out and care for others.
I am glad I am a part of a ministry (Expressions of Miriam Ministries) that volunteers to go into these homes to visit with the people there and perhaps uplift and encourage them in some way by bringing the joy of life and the love of God into their waning lives.
There’s power in a smile To chase a frown away. It will uplift a gloomy spirit, And cheer up someone’s day!
We all have one we can use, So let’s put it on for those we meet. It costs nothing to wear, And it’s beauty can’t be beat!
Leona J. Atkinson06-15-13 June 15th is a day specially set aside to celebrate the smile and encourage everyone to share one!
Read more at: National Smile Power Day
Blaze, you seemed to be the perfect rose for late springtime. They told me you would bloom repeatedly from early summer to fall. How excited I was to bring you home and introduce you to my garden! Your profile showed no negatives. You were: Shade tolerant, Resistant to rust, Had moderate thorns, And could be trained to climb. What a keeper! You certainly seemed to be the prize rose bush! I planted you and waited eagerly for those profuse semi-double red blooms–but they never came… Day after day you sat there drinking my water and eating my food without so much as a bud appearing. I reread your profile to see if I had missed something, but all I saw were more amazing attributes : Grows quickly, Blooms profusely, Brings forth thousands of flowers, Brilliant scarlet red clusters, So easy to grow it is recommended as a gardeners first rose . Such amazing attributes do not fit you, the Blaze in my backyard . You certainly are not a vigorous grower. What is wrong? Each day you seem to get weaker. I don’t want to give up on you, but you seem to have given up on yourself. The more I try to make you grow,the less you do. “Talk to him more” mom said. ” Tell him you really care about him. Encourage him to grow because you know he can.
Start listing all the attributes he has.
Tell him you believe he will become a beautiful blooming bush someday.
Try it and see what happens” she said. I did. I tried. I talked. I cared.
You grew. You flourished. You became what you were created to be, a Blaze of scarlet in my backyard and the first rose to bloom this spring !
(Written about Laura Jae’s little late bloomer, Blaze, rose bush.
He is a living testimony that we should never give up on anyone. For as long as there is life there is hope and with love, care and encouragement,
people, as well as rose bushes, will usually grow and bloom profusely to reach their God ordained destiny. )
Leonas Lines--Poetry Plus 