Thursday, September 2, 2010

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling


I remember learning this poem in elementary school..I plan on getting my little girls to learn it also this year. This poem has many truths...truths which I am trying to teach my girls and truths I need to learn for myself. One of the most important ones we have been encountering lately is found in the last stanza.."if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue". My heart is aching for the girls as I see them struggle in their lives. We have about 8 neighbor girls who land in our front yard to play....attracted somehow by the screeching and laughter of our six who you will probably find on a stool which has wheels zooming out of the garage and whizzing down our driveway which is slanted to see who can go farther. Yes there have been many scrapes and bruises but it hasn't seemed to put a damper on the fun of it all!! With these girls have come many temptations, a little trouble and a few struggles in my girls' hearts and minds. I watch them struggle....I watch them get hurt....and I watch them try to do and say what is right....Marge has lost one of her friends and it has made a deep impression...she often comes to me in tears to talk about it. We have had some issues with learning the wrong kind of music, dancing, swearing, questions on why our girls wear skirts, why they don't go to school, why they are not allowed free range of the neighborhood and the list goes on......I am constantly encouraging them to only do what is right no matter what the other girls want to do...that it is more important to obey than to fall in line with friends and get in trouble...I can see the struggle in their eyes as they are faced with a choice...do I do what is right and maybe lose my friend or do I do what they want and maybe get in trouble? We have a saying at our house that goes like so "it may not be the easy way but it is the Bible way".....they are finding out that it is not always easy.....as I encourage them I tell them that the Lord sees and understands and will not fail to reward obedience...sometimes though it is hard for them to see that reward coming. Please pray for them that they will stand for what is right in a loving way..please pray for me that I will have wisdom to guide them...and please pray that we all would trust God that He knows and understands...

1 comment:

  1. That poem is one of my favorites (except for the "be a man" part- haha!) I learned it in school too, and it was nice to read it again as a reminder. It means so much more now that I'm walking through life as an adult; the poem really does sum up a lot of life struggles that we face. I'm so glad God is with us to give us wisdom, especially as we prepare our children for life. Thanks for sharing!

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