As I Journal Along: Poem

Monday, September 21, 2009

YOU MUSTN'T QUIT - UNKNOWN AUTHOR

I'm a listener and intercessor, and so many have been sharing with me of great struggles, discouragement and hard trials they are facing. I came across this poem today and even though I'm not a boxing fan (reference to last paragraph), I felt this poem and the accompaning footnote, had a lot to say. Most times in life when you're tired of the battles, the struggles, the pain, and you're at your weariest is when you need to fight the hardest, pray the hardest, do all it takes because your victory may just be over the horizon. There are things in life worth fighting for especially when it's hard: your marriage, your family, the pregnancy that doesn't happen, the hope of a job that hasn't arrived yet, and so on. Scripture tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, things yet unseen. I like the word "yet", it implies that it hasn't happened "yet", but it will.

YOU MUSTN'T QUIT - Unknown Author

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sign,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest! if you must-but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won if he'd stuck it out;
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

From Poems that Touch the Heart, compiled by A. L. Alexander

It was James J. Corbett, former heavyweight champion of the world who said: "Fight one more round." When your feet are so tired you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round! When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round! When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you're so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep-DON'T QUIT, FIGHT ONE MORE ROUND!