FaithAndFamilyAbilene - Flipbook - Page 8
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Annie Johnson Flint - Continued)
very frail and soon passed away. It was around this time
that Annie was told by her Doctor that because of
advanced 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 determination
to support herself touched me. Maybe it was because it
raised a question thatÕs as old as humanity itself, ÒWhy is
there so much pain and suffering in this world.Ó
Several years ago I spoke at a funeral of a friend who had
suffered a great deal in the year leading up to his death.
In closing I took the time to read this poem. It seemed
Þtting, and because I felt this poem could only have been
(Annie Johnson Flint - Continued Next Page)
