Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone who has developed in interest in what I have to share through the written word a very special holiday season.    I hope in some way. this year, I have offered inspiration where it was need. I hope thoughts were provoked and lives were changed through what I have shared.  For me, writing  heals the wounds that life inflicts.  Being able to express my feelings has made the challenges and disappointments of life easier to bear.

I am still working on my book.  I am debating whether or not to continue the blog for another year.  I will advise you of that decision later.  Once again, happy holidays.

He is There

At Christmas time,
 it is easy to become disheartened
by circumstance,
A broken romance,
The loss of house and home,
Feeling lonely and alone
Or being far away
From family and friends
on Christmas day.
But no matter where we are,
or what we have to endure,
Our faith in him is secure.
Wherever we are, he is there.
We can feel his presence surrounding us
On a lonely highway or deserted hill.
In the quiet and still,
We can hear him whispering
I am here.
The spirit of Christmas resides in the heart
of every man, woman, boy and girl,
All around the world.
Christmas is not about where we are or how we feel
It's not about a place.
He never stops showering us with his amazing grace.
His joy abounds
All around.
So, when you feel yourself becoming
sad and disheartened,
Remember this,
At the center of the Christmas season is a Savior
Who doesn't need a Christmas list
To grant our every wish.
He has already given us the greatest gift anyone can give.
In him, we live,
breathe and have our being.
Without him, Christmas would have no meaning.
If we call him, he will answer,
wherever we are,
Near or far;
From the hospital bed,
From the desert of Iraq,
from the homeless shelter,
On skid row,
From a cold dark jail cell,
Or from the make shift home under the freeway.
His love and mercy will never go away.
He is everywhere.
Wherever you are, he is there.

Copyright P. Newman Harris
2013

The Death of a President

I remember November 22, 1963 as if it were yesterday.  I can remember exactly where I was when the death of President John F. Kennedy was announced.  I remember the shock and disbelief, the inevitable acceptance of the reality that he was gone, and the grief that followed a long time after.

I was a young black girl in high school at the time, but I felt the loss as if he was a member of our family.  We had come to know and love him as a man of compassion, understanding, determination and integrity.   I had heard many people say he was a breath of fresh air to a nation that was dying from the cancer of racism; that he represented hope for a cure to that seemingly incurable disease, and finally that he was their light in the midst of darkness

As a teenager, having grown up in the south, there was a depth and understanding, to me,  could only come from having experienced racism first hand.  I could sense the deep hopelessness that my parents felt at the time of the President's assassination, but I could never really know all that they felt.   Having lived in the south most of their life, they had experienced far more years of racism than I had experienced in my short years on this earth.

Looking back on that day, I can now understand the depth and extent of their grief as they watched President Kennedy's body proceed to Arlington National Cemetery and listened to the final taps echo in the distant sky.   I now know that they wept and grieved the death of a promise of hope that was buried on that fated day in 1963.

Happy Veteran's Day..Salute to Soldiers far and Near

Throughout time men have fought tirelessly for
the sake of peace.
It is my dream that one day wars will cease.
I may not see this dream come to pass
But I know one day it will come to be.
Every man's reality
To all who have fought towards that cause,
We now pause
We pause and we salute
Your courage, your bravery,
And the commitment you have honored.
Giving honor where honor is due,
We say thank you.