Soldier

Born not I to live

but live to die, fight to live,

brave the fire below!

My futures I give

to the love I must now live -

I am a soldier.

One life

for many.

---<--@

Regrets

So many lost dreams...

So many new horizons...

Regrets? I have none.

The past is the past!

The present is in learning:

Life is in living.

Lighting strikes.

Life goes on.

---<--@

Wounded

I am so wounded -

tired, weak from my weaknesses...

but God is my strength!

My wounds, they do heal.

My scars, my Jesus, are forgot.

But Yours Wounds, my God,

They remain...

to remind.

---<--@

Ripples

Ripples in the crowd -

waves of fear and violence...

failed to shatter hearts.

A day of joy turned

to anguish. The scars live on.

The heroes survive.

God bless you,

Raissa.

---<--@

The real test of courage is saying "NO" to such infantile pranks like the one that gave Raissa and others like her a heavier burden than they had to carry in this life before this incident.

The 2010 Bar Blast was not only reckless, it was plain cowardly.

God bless Raissa for showing us how real courage works - this girl has true grit!

Power of Two

How do we get there?

I don't know. What matters is

that we're together!

Why do I love you?

I don't know. What matters is

that we're together!

Two when one

is complete!

---<--@

Human

To err is human,

to forgive is divine - but

to know this, sublime.

To need forgiveness,

one receives who forgives first

and realize peace.

Mercy comes

with mercy.

---<--@

Tree of Remembrance

My life touching yours -

living, belonging, reaching,

growing together.

Your life touching mine -

living, belonging, reaching,

growing together.

Forever.

We belong.

---<--@

Excerpted from Planet Annelies, 20100825 -

You know, that chestnut tree of yours, my loveliest Miyang, fell over a couple of days ago.

In spite of efforts to preserve it, my darling, it was toppled by a storm.

The tree was simply too old, my love, but the timeless substance of what it now represents - if we are vigilant at heart and if we ponder about it here within - may only be multiplied by this act of God.

That old chestnut tree represents (yes, in present tense) your hope for better things, you know. And because this is a hope that is shared by all of humanity, it has a definite resonance that can not be toppled by any temporal storm.

So why not plant a new one, my darling, nurture it through the years, and let the generations (of our one family of nations) rally themselves in time through it?

Let us plant a lineage of these trees to stretch to the shores of forever and let our allied generations be fostered by it.

After all, remembrance is forever. Remembrance is what holds vigil over the sheltering wings of our peace as nations. If the tree speaks of remembrance, it can never be toppled.

Update: Apparently, a number of new saplings were taken from the old tree, my darling, and was a thing thought of independent of our suggestion here (which only reinforces our point).

---<--@

Father

O father of mine,

when will I get to know you

when you're never there?

Longing for father

sometimes I really think - God -

gave me a brother.

God is my

true Father.

---<--@

Gray Skies

When dark clouds threaten

and thy prayers seem unheard

carry on blindly.

Fall a million times

in the dark. But don't you stop

longing for light!

God listens,

don't you know?

---<--@

Water

Arrive by the calm

of thy own shining clearly

and disturb it not.

Spirit's like water.

Its depth is a clarity.

Its contents, mystery.

The soul is

like a sea.

---<--@

Shyness

O first base, first base...

What happens after first base?

I have to find out.

I think I am shy.

But I know sometimes I'm not.

It really depends.

A good wife

is from God.

---<--@

Starshine

The stars in the night

wills to shine the more brightly
through adversity.

Darkness is darkness
that does not lead to the light!
Night time too shall pass...

Starshine, be yourself.

Be the image of God in you -

virtue shining through.

Sharp as the sunbeam,

radiant as thy own true self;

a child of the Light.

God bless you,

dear Starshine!

---<--@

The Best Things

The best things in life

are often things we can't see

that the heart perceives.

The best things in life

are often things we can't hear

that our heart receives.

The best things

are not things.

---<--@

Tides of Life

Problems come and go...

What matters is that they do!

What must remain? You.

What matters in life

is not how often the tide

but how we hold on.

So be strong,

or be swift.

---<--@