WE DO DECIDE WHICH

Unknown Date in 1998

As I lay sleeping on the couch,
The Angel, Gabriel, shoved me Heaven.
The banquet table, I’m here to vouch,
Had to spring from Heaven’s leaven.
Every dish was true perfection;
Not a thing was left undone.
Cheery souls, in my reflection,
Sat round the table, having fun.
But this one circumstance I saw:
Their arms were splinted, straight and strapped.
The thought that made me stand in awe
Was, ‘Why so cheery when handicapped?’

But then the angel changed the scene,
And suddenly we stood in Hell.
A banquet set, just like we’d seen,
Drove home the truth I have to tell.
Sad souls sat in dire dejection,
Hollow-eyed, mal-nourished, all unfed,
Which brought to mind one more reflection:
‘Why sit they here, as though they’re dead?’
The omniscient angel read my mind:
‘Heaven’s souls,’ the angel said,
‘Feed each other because they’re kind.’

And waking with a start, I thought,
"Here lies the key to happy life:
A key, which by her deeds she’s taught,
Throughout life by my kind and loving wife.
Our lives do change and so do we,
For change is growth, and growth is change.
Abundant life, the selfless see,
When through their love they rearrange
Those urgencies that deal with ‘me’
And feed others as they learn each other’s need
Through loving word and thoughtful deed.

MY FIRST LADY

June 20, 1998

When I became a Reynolds in Nineteen Forty-Two
There were some subtle changes I’d like to share with you.
As Parsonage first lady, referred to by my name,
My wife was Reynolds through and through, and acted like the same.

Details were her thing; she never missed a shot,
And when it came to cleaning, she never missed a spot.
People were her purpose; she always saw their need
From wiping children’s noses to teaching them to read.

Violence she detested; she always worked toward peace;
And in trouble calmly moved us, all toward sweet release.
She suffered very quietly, in body, or in soul.
Somehow knowing calmly that faith would make her whole.

I could not live with this, without a change of heart,
And so I studied her to learn to play my part.
And in these years of study, proclaiming God’s great Word,
This self in me has cratered, for now my heart has heard.

In newness I rejoice; from oldness I am free
My old ways disappear, nor does this credit me;
But rather must the credit go to one I truly love;
One who held me up to God, our Father up above.