oyster

There once was an oyster 
Whose story I tell, 
Who found that some sand 
Had got into his shell. 

It was only a grain, 
But it gave him great pain. 
For oysters have feelings 
Although they're so plain. 

Now, did he berate 
The harsh workings of fate 
That had brought him 
To such a deplorable state? 

Did he curse at the government, 
Cry for election, 
And claim that the sea should 
Have given him protection? 

'No,' he said to himself 
As he lay on a shell 
Since I cannot remove it, 
I shall try to improve it. 

Now the years have rolled around, 
As the years always do, 
And he came to his ultimate destiny, 
A bowl of oyster stew. 

And the small grain of sand 
That had bothered him so 
Was a beautiful pearl 
All richly aglow. 

Now the tale has a moral, 
For isn't it grand 
What an oyster can do 
With a morsel of sand? 

What couldn't we do 
If we'd only begin 
With some of the things 
That get under our skin. 

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 
And let endurance have its perfect result, 
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4 NASB)

-2001 proseuche