Remember to Number

It’s strange that we often remember
so much that we ought to forget;
and forget what we should have remembered,
that’s one reason we worry and fret.

Remembering the hurts other give us
won’t make our lives happy and sweet.
In fact, it will be just the opposite,
and we’ll burden the folks that we meet.

Forgetting the kind deeds of others,
believe me, is fully as bad;
for this is how favors quit coming;
it’s selfishness, which is so sad.

Remembering each good we engage in
and wanting our neighbors to see;
forgetting how often we’ve failed them—
what blind hypocrites we can be!

There’s one thing I’ve recently noted—
it’s funerals—where truth we must face;
we may promise to make worthwhile changes,
yet how quickly these thoughts we erase.

Oh, teach us, dear Lord, then, to number
our days—yes, they really are few;
and open our hearts to Thy wisdom,
securing our “Well done” from You!

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(Reposted from August 6, 2017. Alternate title: Remembering and Forgetting)



Picture: depositphotos.com #104026080, standard license