A Merry Heart

By

h. lena jones

A merry heart

I strive to maintain

So I choose not to complain

Of aches and pains

Or even if I’m having

A bad hair day

I choose not to complain

Whether it rains or shines

Or even if I miss the bus

Instead I choose to embrace

And give thanks to God

For allowing me to see

The dawning of yet another day!

I choose to ignore the rat race of

Trying to keep up with the Joneses

Or be bothered by relatives who brag about

The achievements of their offspring

Knowing that empty vessels make most noise

And common sense is in short supply

I choose instead to encourage the timid

To brighten the day of an elderly person

With a smile and how-d’you-do

To say please and thank you

To the angry, miserable clerk who just served me

At the grocery or department store

To smile with appreciation

Especially to toilet cleaning staff

For the thankless job they do!

I choose to be this way because

That’s how my parents brought me up

To be simple but God-fearing

To always have a merry heart

But there are times when I slip up

And with regret chastise myself

For being so quick-tempered

When I should have counted

To ten as dad said I should

When faced with a

Trying situation!

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine;

but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

(Proverbs 17:22)