faithandfamilybiz - Magazine - Page 19
Socrates Once Said ÒIf you donÕt get what you
want you suffer; if you get what you donÕt want
you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer
because you canÕt hold on to it forever. Your mind is your
predicament. It wants to be free of change, free of pain, free of the
obligations of life and death, but change is law, and no amount of
pretending will alter that reality.Ó
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Annie Johnson Flint - Continued)
arthritis she would be a helpless invalid for the rest of her life. In
addition to her arthritis she suffered from other ailments, including
cancer and painful bed-sores. There were never enough pillows Annie
could use to ease her suffering, even slightly.
I was drawn to AnnieÕs poems and to her story because of her
entrepreneurial spirit. Her story and her
Several years ago I
determination to support herself touched
spoke at a funeral of a me. Or, it might have been because it
dear friend who had
raised a question with me thatÕs as old as
suffered a great deal
humanity itself, ÒWhy is there so much pain
and suffering in this world.Ó
Several years ago I spoke at a funeral of a dear friend who had suffered
a great deal in the months leading up to his death. In closing I took the
time to read this poem. It seemed Þtting because I felt this poem could
only have been written by someone who had no choice but to look
upward. AnnieÕs poems and her hand drawn greeting cards implied
this to me. She looked up and saw God so very clearly. Annie said that
her Þrst poems were born of a need of others and not her own need,
and that her writings provided her solace.
(Continued Next Page)
