How grateful I am,
How happy to know,
How You trusted me,
How valued the soul!
How precious the moments,
How quickly they passed,
How high was the honor,
How sweet was the task!
How humbly I hope,
How sweet is the rest,
How often and always,
I’m found at your breast.
Copyright 2021. L.L. Shelton.
Is it probable that we have so abused our liberty that we have propelled our nation into a choice between thinly veiled fascism and slightly obscured communism? Is it too late for any rational choice- too late for our healing? Has the time passed for our recognition of the other’s point of view and a sincere attempt to find a common moral ground? Professing Christians stand resolutely on both sides of the divide, each one sure of his perspective and of his thoughts regarding it. Each idealogical camp accuses the other of a lack of regard for the living. Each group is sure that the other is a culture committed to death of one kind or another; therefore each assembly is pushing for its members to vote according to conscience.
What if each individual and morally grounded voter is honestly compelled to consider an issue that he believes is a promotion of our culture of death, and is certain that the other party is oblivious to said issue; therefore he casts his ballot in the opposite direction? In this case, are we not obliged to consider that each congregation’s view of death is different. As our president so aptly stated during a press briefing related to the possibility of reopening the country during the COVID Crisis, and for these words I applaud him, “There are many ways to die.”
While good Christians are united in their belief in their need of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and in their belief in His divinely appointed position as the only begotten Son Of God, good Christians are diverse in their genetic compositions as well as in their life experiences, lifestyles, and in their personal and cultural histories. These differences allow for the development of a curious array of perspectives. What if each of us on both sides of the aisle- that is each one who is truly sane- understands that death is the ultimate evil ushered into the world by sin and longs for life to prevail? What if our greatest need is to sit with the other at a round table and discover the other’s understanding of the nature, structure, and definition of death? What if, presently, our greatest common good would be to cultivate a true comprehension of the other Christian American’s view? (This is not to say that the table should accommodate those who do not profess Christ as Savior and Lord. The table I imagine would seat my friends and family members who are fruit producing, baptized Believers, as well as their loved ones who are in the same position, and as the true church we would come together to discuss our opinions of God’s communication of what constitutes oppression and death, and to further our understanding of the other tribe’s dialect concerning such things.)
I find that I agree with Ayn Rand (who by her own admission, thought under the influence of Aristotle) in specifically this: For one man to demand that another man give up his own life and personal happiness for the sake of another is the ultimate selfishness and is evil. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that the Creator God who exists does ask this of each man for the other, and encourage the Christian education that exposes others to this Biblical Truth, and the subsequent explanation of all Scripture. I hope for the church to continually propagate her beliefs founded in The Word of God to man, and that many will give up their own self-centeredness to the better man in Christ Jesus, to the power of His Holy Spirit, and to the will of God.
In conclusion, it is apparent that some good Christians are assured of the science evident in the natural physical world and other good Christians avow the “magic” of Aslan, and that some of us embrace both; of course both in the purest sense are True, as both in the purest sense can be known. Come, let the church of America reason together. Let us remember our history, and in all gravity, think on the mistakes of the past and learn from them. Let us consider the abundant evidence of resulting corruption and reject fascism, communism, and all other terrible notions. Let us avoid the evil of a totalitarian regime, as it is an absolute government of man in the place of God; and may He Himself have mercy on our souls!
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
How is it that you read
Lady Chatterly’s Lover,
And come away simply aroused by a passionate affair?
That you are acquainted with
The Diary of Anne Frank,
And note only the introspections of a young girl becoming familiar with her body?
That you have knowledge of
Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret,
And are moved merely by the description of menses?
That you read
Huckleberry Finn,
And place your focus on one foul word?
That you study Orwell and are stunned only by illustrations of suffering?
Perhaps you, as Alice, drank a vile potion?
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
Precariously perched,
Bright new wings unfurled,
Her wretched screaming slowed,
Still at her past Is hurled;
And round the fragile stem of life
Her feeble feet are curled,
“I cannot save you from yourself,
I recognize the plea;
For many years I heard the cry
Yet I could not save me.
Now here I stand with heart in hand,
The child is finally free.”
Light blinds her temporarily,
She’s startled by the noise;
Walking slowly to the edge
Though in her pain is poised,
To take to flight across the sky,
Embracing future joys.
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
A few moments before six this morning, our little ebony and white Ferdinand, only five months old and once a lively but patient presence in our barn, left us. He was so named due to his pattern being remarkably similar to that of the hulking but graceful bull of children’s picture book fame, who wished only to enjoy the flower filled meadow on sunshiny days but was, to the dismay of not only Ferdinand but to the consternation of his fans, instead made to enter the fighting arena in Spain. Our own little Ferdinand had seemed to bear a resemblance to his namesake in pleasant disposition as well as in appearance, and as he festively frolicked through the season of being a kid, easily endeared himself to all.
It is true that the miracle of life never ceases to completely engage me in ecstasy, and impending death never ceases to call forth a full and encompassing anguish. Still, there is a time to stop clinging to the here and now. It had been a long night and Ferdinand’s occasional weak and pitiful bleat as he struggled in the throes of serious illness instigated a tremendous ache in my heart. And so I listened as my soft but persistent cheerleader tones, the ones that I had been using for the past forty-eight hours as I tried to encourage him to this life, turned to gentle soothing notes of assistance in letting go of his body to recover life in a different form. Then, I heard myself whisper that I knew he was destined to a joyful reunion with his mother who had passed in similar fashion only days before. In this event, I felt a transcending peace surrounding our beings and only a few shallow breaths later, the little fellow stretched his legs and began to run. Though he lay on his side, anchored to the pillow by his exhausted body, unable to lift his head, his previously crippled legs moved perfectly smoothly in a running motion. His eyes appeared focused on some distant desire that only he could perceive- then he stopped abruptly and his tail began to wag with joy. Sensing that I was witness to something extraordinarily beautiful, I was rapt with attention.
Some, having little experience with farm animals, do not realize the exuberance that is often expressed in the goats frantically wiggling tail, but I am quite familiar with the wonderfulness of it, and I have seen it often when the kid whose eyes have located his mother at a distance realizes that his strong little legs will efficiently carry him through the pleasant pasture in her direction and suddenly finds himself close beside her. Another sight common to the goatherd is that of the obvious adoration between the pair. Their eyes shine and their countenance is visibly lifted in one another’s presence. The young one will often skip and hop around the doe, bleating excitedly upon their sure reunion.
Seconds following this miraculous expression of his copper deficient, partially paralyzed body, Ferdinand closed his eyes. Then, he visibly relaxed and quietly resigned his brief existence in this life; and I realized anew that I am blessed to have experienced his life here and to have been included in his passing on to his next adventure.
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
Of what I was about to do,
My brain it simply has no clue.
I wander here, I wander there,
Searching for it everywhere.
I look up, I look down.
My eyes they hasten all around,
At last remember what is due,
To travel back to what I knew.
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
If Gloria Steinem is correct, if marriage is only legalized prostitution- then God is the king pimp.
But what if she is wrong and marriage- marriage apart from the state, marriage practiced as it was designed to be and intended to be by God, is the most beautiful gift God bestowed upon humanity, second only to Christ Himself?
What if the perversion of marriage has been purely manmade; brought about by our self-centeredness, our sin and our unwillingness to forgive, the natural result of individual cynicism and hardheartedness?
Copyright. 2020. L.L. Shelton.
Adults educate themselves.
Adults seek and consider counsel.
Adults adopt their own values.
Adults make decisions.
Adults embrace responsibility for their decisions.
Adults are honest with themselves and others.
Adults accept the blame that is due them.
Adults graciously pardon weakness in others.
Adults are respectful and considerate of others.
Adults are motivated by the joy of service.
Adults cheerfully give more than they take.
Adults engage in conflict.
Adults engage in conflict resolution.
Adults demand little and freely negotiate.
Adults remember the past and learn from it.
Adults plan for the future and rest in it.
Adults live in the present and enjoy it.
How well are you adulting, today?
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.
I know you by now. You are the ordinarily pleasant sounds of life moving through the day, the common mistakes of a moment that everyone makes, but you are disguised as something terrible. You make me feel as though I need to cover my ears and seek shelter. You cause me to be nearly unable to withstand these usually comforting evidences of the living. Normal existence grates across the fabric of my being.
Next, you appear as screws puncturing and turning in one or another well chosen area of my inner space. Most often I feel you in my upper arms, my neck and shoulders, and my lower back. You show up violently as though you are outraged at having been suppressed. You immediately explode and your ranting is somewhat paralyzing.
Finally, there is debris scattered sparingly across my shoulders, around my collar bone, occasionally along my spine. Your signature in little blistery pop-ups that itch momentarily; that I unwittingly run my nails across in response to your demands, that become crusty, scab-over and pass away as mysteriously as they arrived. Your clarifying claim of responsibility for the terrorist act.
Treacherous enemy that you are- you require absolute surrender to ease the pain. We are, therefore, at odds. Though I ache, though I am near exhausted, I will move, I will recover, and I will live.
Copyright 2020. L..L. Shelton
In the midst of this novel coronavirus outbreak, if being in the high risk group, I must isolate, must choose between my right to go anywhere and to do anything, and my healthy neighbor’s right to work and earn an honest wage- I choose for my neighbor. I will stay home voluntarily or take my chances. If I leave our property, I will wear a mask to be kind to the other fellow. I will contribute to our shared economy in whatever way I am able from my weaker position. If I am sick, I will stay home.
Why ?
Because I choose you.
Where do we- the American government- get our money? We take it from ourselves- the workers: The common laborers, the tradesmen, the producers, the service providers, the professionals, and small business owners, large privately owned companies, corporations owned by a board of shareholders. The workers. The money that we provide to fund the government is paid in the form of taxes; therefore, if these individuals and groups- the workers- do not earn money- neither will the government. The government will have no money. No one will have anything. Now, I will be first to state that our tax system is in constant need of reform- and that need should be consistently addressed, but that fact does not change the former truth.
If our stronger brothers and sisters are not allowed to work, they cannot carry those who are weaker. The abled must be given opportunity to provide for the disabled. Younger adults must have a way to provide for children, and the elderly. We the people, must have a way to provide for the expense of our common government. It’s only logical.
I choose you.
Copyright 2020. L.L. Shelton.