Be of Good Cheer

I thought since my last post was about "good cheer," I thought I should post a poem about good cheer that I wrote after reading President Monson's talk about "Be of Good Cheer."

Be of Good Cheer
(from President Thomas S. Monson’s conference talk, Ensign, May 2009, pp. 89-92)

For us to be truly cheerful,
we must lift our heads high,
shun the notions

of misfortunes and utterlessness,
and sing Hosannas
even during the most difficult times.

We must rise from our beds of affliction,
having faith that God is with us—
For He has said time and time again,

“Be of good cheer, and I will lead you along.”
With a promise of that magnitude,
why we do still sit idly by, often wrapped

in tattered blankets, slumped in armchairs
or buried deep in our beds, singing
“Woe is me, woe is me?”

Cannot we not be like the German widow
of whom President Monson spoke—
When her children died,

she dug graves with only a tablespoon.
“Her despair was all consuming….”
Yet

the spirit prompted her to get on her knees.
With a fervent “Dear Heavenly Father”
and with more despairing words

and a heavy, heavy heart,
she knew that she must trudge forward,
ever forward, ever faithful, even on moonless nights,

knowing, finally, some day, some day
that she would be reunited
with those whom she loved

and “return— together—“to her Heavenly Father.
For the Lord has said to her and to us,
“They who have endured the crosses of the world,

and despised the shame of it,
they shall inherit the kingdom of God….
and their joy shall be full forever.”