This is the poem that Martin McCrory read at the end of his message on February 21. I hope you enjoy it.
SHAKE THE DUST
This is for all the pimple populated teens
For the fat girls and the flat girls
For the new kids at school that no one wants to know
For the schoolyard wimps and the bullies who torment them
Fro the 12 year olds too afraid to strip down in the change room showers
For the A-grades and the H-grades
For the sporting jocks and milky geeks
For the kid who is always late for class and forgets the combination to his locker
Shake the dust
This is for the trendy and for the cool
Those with the latest and the fastest at school
For those lost in the escapism of narcissistic likes
The brand-conscious flashing their Nikes
For those who let the numbers tell them that they are loved
Because they never had that from a daddy, not from one on this planet, and neither from above
For the posed, the poised, the noise, the boys!
For those lost in the virtual world of their palm toys
Shake the dust
This is for the kicked-outs
for the closed-group block outs
For the snubbed, and the cold-shouldered shut-outs
For those excluded and the excluders and the exclusive
For the superior and for the abusive
For those desperate to belong, but no one hears your song
Shake the dust
This is for the moms in a world where mom-hood is anathema
For the mothers who get asked what they do all day
Because their vocation is a vacation
For those who wipe noses and clean bums
Who converse in goo-goos, ga-gas and nursery rhyme hums
So that their sons and daughters don't become bums!
To those who sacrifice to be mums
Shake the dust
This is for the hardworking single mom
And for the disillusioned absent dad
For the abused and for the abusers
For the write-off and the society losers
For the abandoned and forsaken
Who feel that life has given less than it has taken
Those who cant make ends meet and exceed what they borrow
For those who see no way out, who try to drown their sorrow
For those who have to steady their hearts as the watch loved-ones depart
Shake the dust
This is for the lonely, for the depressed, for those desperate to be free
For the ones who said the world would be better without me
Shake the dust
This is for those who let the heat burn too close
For those who allowed their innocence get lost
This is for the pregnant teen who doesn't want to be seen
For the online porn addict who feels unclean
Shake the dust
This is for the guy just trying to pay the rent
For those watching their one life get spent and bent
Chasing the cars, the houses and never making a dent
in the mounting debt wondering where all the years went
Wondering if that’s what God meant
When he said “For this purpose I was sent.”
Shake the dust
This is for the sick. for the halt and those who will soon expire
For those who have watched their prayers backfire
At the end of intense and earnest desire
Those who have held on against the odds
Those who have chosen the only One God
Those who have waited for a dream to come true
Those who’ve had secrets that nobody knew
Shake the dust!
This is those who are too old to get married
those who have had too many marriages
For those who have betrayed their marriage
And for those who wish they were married
Shake the dust
This is for those who tried to shed a few pounds
Who resolve the Monday diet but go around and around as they get round
This is for the procrastinator who will get around to it
To the wallflower gym member who swipes his card but never trains hard
This is for those who are trying to be somebody other than they already are
Shake the dust
IT”S A NEW DAY!
Paul writes in Philippians 3:13“… I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past (“experience”) and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on … “
For the hopers and the dreamers for the wide-eyed believers
Keep pressing on!
For the longings, for the desires, for the hopes and for the dreams
For those anticipating more than they could ever believe
For those Expecting good from a God who can only be good
For those Desiring promotion and provision while God is your vision
PRESS ON!
For those Believing for miracles and signs from the One Life who colours outside the lines
For those Trusting for loved ones to be saved, there is a way that His blood has paved
PRESS ON!
For those longing to be sent
There is a curtain that has been rent
His invitation is for you to come
Press in, press on, RUN!
Shake the dust, and keep pressing on!