I should be sad
But I feel uplifted
I should be scared
But I feel hopeful
I should be upset
But I feel grateful
I should be perplexed
But I understand
And the only reason for this is my Faith in God
And the outpouring of support from my friends
I feel buoyed by their love
I feel like I’m flying in the rare atmosphere of their care and compassion
And I’m basking in the sunshine of their affection
I should be sad
But I’m not
June 16th, 2022
Sometimes in life
You have to live with uncertainty
And wait for clarity
Sometimes this depends on the people around us
Whose decision affects us
Certain questions don’t have a yes or no answer right away
The answer could be I don’t know or maybe, I’ll tell you later
How does one deal with uncertainty?
Perhaps through faith in the people around us
Those whose decision will impact us
Perhaps through prayer
Perhaps through resignation
Accepting things as they are
In any case uncertainty is part of life
November 15th, 2019
One storm is over
Another one is on the horizon
It’s not clear how bad this storm will be
Early indications say
That it won’t be severe
But forecasting these things is not easy
And if it wasn’t this storm
There would be another one
Life is like this
So, we need to build our homes well
So they can protect us
Faith, good friends, patience and perseverance
Optimism and hopefulness
Are good building material
October 9th, 2019
Days go by and nothing changes
The same room
The same people
The same food
The same isolation
The same restrictions
The same injustice
The same false accusations
The same unfair treatment
And as there is no change
Days slow to a crawl
The world loses its colour
And it takes a mighty effort
To see the cup as half full
Or by now, a quarter full!
Patience, immense patience is required
Faith, an unshakable faith is needed
Love, a boundless love is called for
Only a noble soul can be subjected
To such unfair treatment and not complain
Only a noble soul can be thankful for having
Been chosen to suffer in the path of love
For his Beloved
Only a noble soul can stay strong and
Not lose heart
The same walls
The same colourless surroundings
The same deprivations
The same amazing courage!
The same reliance on God!
The same great sacrifice!
Lida Berghuis
October 1st, 2015
For the Yaran
My sunny day became cloudy when I heard the news
How a few words can change one’s day
Some things seem unjust in this world
And yet, they have a wisdom they say
Doesn’t mean sadness cannot visit once in a while
No amount of faith can stop that
We are human after all
But faith does help us move on
And not get stuck in the valley of sadness for long
Sadness is part of life as clouds belong to the sky
But we can be assured that
Eventually, the sun will come out
Lida Berghuis
August 31st, 2015
I see the ocean of life
Sometimes calm
Sometimes tumultuous
Sometimes wild
But life goes on
Despite the ups and downs
Despite the storms that come
Despite the times that we think we will not survive
We are resilient
We will survive!
The ocean will return to calm
And we’ll be so glad we persevered
Didn’t give up
The ocean of life
Beautiful!
Dangerous!
Deceivingly serene at times!
Unnervingly turbulent at times!
But life goes on
Despite the changes and chances
Despite the sorrows and challenges
Despite the periods of grief that seem to not want to end
Hope and faith
Friendship and love
These are the things that help us navigate the ocean of life
Lida Berghuis
September 11th, 2014
Inspired by a composition by Leon Alatif
I always knew humility was not my forte!
There were times I felt very self righteous
I thought I had the answer to many questions in life
I knew I didn’t know everything
But I thought I knew a lot!
The confidence I felt
Came from not having lived long enough
To experience real pain and real suffering in life
I had not fallen hard yet
Unable to get up
I had not been brought to my knees by the trials of life
I had not been thrown into confusion
And questioned the fairness of life
I had not come to the point of questioning the point of life
Considering all the suffering it entailed
But life has a way of showing us how small we are
How mistaken we can be
How easy it is to break and lose faith
How hard it can be to get up again!
And perhaps that’s good
Because these are lessons
That can’t be learned the easy way
These are lessons
That require the sobering effects of pain!
Lida Berghuis
March 19th, 2013
Sometimes I think I feel too much
Absorb the energies around me too much
Positive people lift me up
But negativity drags me way down!
Somehow I feel this life
Is not meant to be easy
It will always be a struggle
With brief periods of respite!
Struggling and learning is part of life
But I sometimes wonder where to get
The energy to carry on after having fallen down!
Sometimes I feel so fragile
I feel like a flower petal that can be crushed
Blown away
And rained upon!
Sometimes I feel I’m not strong enough
For the needs of this world
That my skin is not thick enough
To withstand the bruises and the cuts!
Struggling is part of life
Joy is part of life
And the things that keep me going
Are art, the love of family and friends
My faith, and the beauty I see all around!
Lida Berghuis
March 6th, 2013
All worthwhile things in life involve risk!
Can’t wait for certainty to take that big step!
Can’t analyze every angle
And be completely sure
Of the outcome of the decision we make
Can’t guarantee success!
That’s the element of risk
Or faith, perhaps!
At the cross roads of life
We can weigh the pros and cons
We can imagine where we may land
We can guess what each step may bring
But in the end
We take a risk
We choose a path
Not totally certain of
Where it may lead
It’s being comfortable
With uncertainty
Living for now
Because we can’t be sure of the future
No matter how much we plan
A road that seems to lead to a garden
May end up in a dry patch of land
A path that does not look promising
But compelling
Will lead us to undiscovered places
Unexpected places
Places beyond our imagination, at that!
So we can calculate
We can analyze
We may wish for a “certain return”
But life does not work like that!
March 17th, 2013
Lida Berghuis
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