Posted 4/26/21
Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Proverbs 4:26
Just a little poem on the good side of pride. Pride is like faith…the object, and the heart is what matters…
Pride
When God calls His children and says to them with much joy,
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
He speaks as a beaming, proud Father, not a bit coy.
He is boisterous and fervent.
I , made in His Image, yearn to do the very same,
To my kids: “Wonderful!” I shout!
I proudly show their pictures, their virtues to exclaim,
To anyone who’ll hear me out.
Proudly I parent, as the stakes of life grow higher.
Of my kids, pride grows all the time.
In good times and bad alike, I warm in pride’s fire
And brag of their exploits sublime.
In modern society, distance may interfere
I go my way, and they go theirs.
But my pride for them, when I can catch up, is sincere.
I cling to their hopes, dreams and cares.
Time passes, paradigms shift. My parents need care now,
I am life-sandwiched in between,
I care for my kids and care for my parents somehow,
and I cling to God’s Grace I’ve seen.
As time flies, the prouder of my parents I become
Their sacrifice, time exposed.
I am learning daily where my character came from.
Their strength through their trials disclosed.
Now, in my mom’s case, I can see that her end is near
Alzheimer’s struck, then chipped away.
She has fought bravely and proudly, that much is quite clear.
My pride for her grows every day.
As caregiver and parent I stand tired, deflated,
spent with immense hills yet to climb.
But my pride for your brave fight is quite understated
Oh, to make you proud one last time.
So I write, I care, I support others and much more,
with your example as my guide.
I will do all I can to show Alzheimer’s the door,
For family I fight with pride.
-Mark Applegate
#EndALZ
Update: Mom is tired. She has fought hard…harder than I could have ever fought. But…she is tired. Her hospice nurse couldn’t awaken her today, so I have no report. My brother gets tomorrow and I get Thursday. I am so proud of mom that my little goofy poem is powerless to represent.
Runnin’ Til I’m Purple Update– I ran around 24.3 miles yesterday, a day later than my norm. I had foot issues caused by my overtying my shoe. It feels fine today. It is hard for me to give up knowing what all my mom hasn’t given up through… The fundraiser is still just over $2000. We have this last week as a chance to raise funds for it at Blue Iguana Car wash with wash code 1735. Shirt pre-orders are going well. Will we make it to our goal of $5280? I hope so. Will I make it the full 37.5+ miles? It won’t be because of lack of effort if I don’t. 🙂
Thank you all!
