John had a Stethoscope
His father bought it for him, a going away present
as John left for medical school.
Now he was back home for Thanksgiving,
flushed with excitement but playing it cool
as he displayed his technique
to the family crowding the kitchen.
We had driven two hundred odd miles across Iowa,
eight of us riding past Jolley and What Cheer,
for the annual event that reunited my father’s family.
Barely out of the Rambler
we were being treated
to John telling us how a heart sounds:
lub dub
lub dub
lubdub lubdublubdublubdub.
Then John needed a volunteer
to complete the demonstration,
and against my protests
I was selected. The others saw
Young Doctor John Examines the Patient
but I saw his eyes
as he heard my rheumatic heart
straining ka PLISH ka PLISH
kaPLISHka
We are not the ones to determine the length of our days here, however we can choose to hold the Good Shepherd and His flock closely and help ignite a fire in us that will spread to the rest of His Body and a lost world..
INCOMING SALVO…THE BEST IS YET TO COME…30 DEC. A.D. 2021
Counting it all joy SPREADING THE LOVE OF GOD,