As Blessings Flow Into This Life
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AS BLESSINGS FLOW INTO THIS LIFE To God I humbly kneel and pray As I proudly walk this earth today. I reminisce over countless heights As blessings flow into this life. So You healed me Pain and fatigue, my enemies, Kept me company. Radiation and Chemotherapy, my friends, turned out to be. A TEACHER’S PRAYER Lord, I pray that I will not make assumptions about my students. Remind me to recognize and accept each student for the unique individual that he or she is and the wisdom to know that diversity is such a beautiful thing. FOR SHE IS A PEARL Excited she is, Vibrant, full of life, Happy and confident, despite the strife Forced upon her by this despicable world. Not a worry she has, for she is a pearl. . Manifested through words, a knife deeply cuts. Healing will come, only if she has the guts . . . CONFESSIONS OF THE IGNORANT INTELLECTUAL I am the ignorant intellectual. You will find me far and near. I am so high and mighty I cannot see my way clear. WHY I SMILE Oh yes, I fight back But I don’t dare retaliate with an assault. I don’t lift a fi nger to hurt it. I don’t spit in its face nor do I knock it down. Infl icting pain is not my game. And yet I’m winning this war. THE LESSON OF THE GUTTER You laugh thinking you have gotten the best of me. Ha! Gutter you have taught me well. I take this opportunity to reap a harvest Unbeknownst to you and your tenants. I get up, pack my bags, and go north Never to return to this barren land. With the twinkling of an eye, I disappear. Ha! Look who is laughing now. THE SEA OF MUSIC Its waves toss me to and fro. I wade in it. I bathe in it. I drown in it. I never want to come up for breath. I sip it.I gulp it. I live it. I breath it. Bottomless it is, never running dry, Forever drenching my soul, A perpetual antidote for my sorrows and woes, So consoling, what am I to do? WHEN I THINK OF JESUS I think of how He paints a smile on my face when I’ve spent all day sobbing because the world mistook me for a punching bag. I think of how He breathes life in me and tells old death “Mind your manners.” when doctors have just told me “Pack your bags, you’re going south.” I think of His Goodness, His Kindheartedness, His Compassion. I think of His Humbleness, His Meekness, and His Holiness. THE SEASONED ENTRÉE OF LIFE My child don’t you see what God has ordained. My sister just look what I have attained. I’ve traveled great years on this passenger train. I’ve suffered a day many, yet have I no disdain. THAT’S MY DADDY You sacrifice your time on the job to say one day this house I own. You struggled, took mess off of people, to make this house a home. “That’s my daddy!” I proudly say, “Give me that microphone!” AN ANGEL CALLED NURSE When I think of that someone Beyond the call of duty, traveling afar Just to give Father a helping hand, God’s Angel is what you are. Someone who stood by like a soldier To lift his spirits, you took the time. Someone who checked on his wellbeing, You will always come to mind. THE IRREPLACEABLE GRANDPARENT Thank you for the good genes that you passed on to mama and daddy, who then passed them on to me ensuring that I would be the beautiful person that I am today, inside and out. Thank you for raising me when mama and daddy could not, and sometimes would not. HARRIET TUBMAN WAS HER NAME This woman was drop-dead gorgeous. Her presence alone demanded the utmost respect, A tower of esteem that preceded her every move. Her very essence would stop you dead in your tracks. THE CITY OF ENTERPRISE KNEELS DOWN TO PRAY Trees snapped, uprooted, Vehicles tossed like toothpicks to and fro. Buildings toppled, Houses crumbled, Desolation served to go. Lives taken without notice, Lives broken without a clue. Loved ones at perfect peace, Consolation for me and you. THE SYMPHONY I am well aware that throughout my performance the tempo will change. Fast paced one moment, slow-paced the next! I know these things will come to be. Suddenly, I will find myself overwhelmed with exhaustion, but my work, Lord, is it complete? Am I destined to do more? THE GUESTS OF HONOR I have a special menu planned for these honored visitors. I am in awe of these members of society who have decided to tax their brains with the bombardment of knowledge and know-how that I dump on their plate of life. I embrace their thirst for knowledge, their curiosity, their doubts, their fears,. . . MY MAMA We would all gather around mama in anticipation as she took the time to give us each a portion of her homemade motherly love. “I’m talking about that chewy gooey drop dead delicious ‘kinda’ candy.” My Mama “ain’t” just a cook either, she is a fighter too. And don’t try to correct my English. If it was good enough for Sojourner Truth to say “ain’t”, it’s good enough for me. To Such A Leader! To Such A Friend! The deacon in humiliation thinks “Oh Lord, how that hurts! How did the pastor find out I’m the one who’s been slinging that dirt?” YES WE CAN Dehydration of the economy I’m thirsty. Give me water. Yet you beg me for a handout. And I ain’t got change for a quarter. POETICALLY INCLINED Take a journey to the Library. Plan to spend quality time. Pick up a good book, I tell you. Read every line.
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About the Book
With the stroke of a pen, As Blessings Flow Into This Life, comes alive painting smile after smile on the faces of those who dare read these words of truth, strength and hope. Michelle’s work sends the message that adversity leads to victory serving to make one strong and fearless. Growing up during segregation, she made her mark when she entered first grade by being one of the first black children to integrate an all white school system in the city of Enterprise, Alabama back in1965. Michelle proclaims, “ Overcoming obstacles in my life such as being hit by a car as a little girl and battling acute lymphocytic leukemia as a sixteen year old compelled me to pick up a pen and write. Her unique sense of humor flavors the entire collection. As her collection increased she comments, “I was inspired to author a book, releasing the depths of my soul to others.” These “Gifts from God”, as Michelle often describes her words, “are not meant to be written and hidden away.” She states, “They exist for the sole purpose of inspiring and uplifting others just as they inspired and uplifted me when they were given.”
About the Author
Michelle Whitehurst Goosby is an educator and writer who serves as a mathematics professor at LBW Community College. Her literary work is showcased in the Southeast Alabama Gazette. Hailing from Troy University Dothan, she earned a B. S. in pure mathematics and an M.S. in foundations of education, math concentration.