A note from Helen: Sheryl, my brother's daughter, spent several years as a missionary in Senegal, Africa. There she met many special friends. This poem is about those friends....Although Sheryl had to come home from Senegal, due to health problems, part of her heart remains there... Sheryl is still working for the Lord, but this time in Canada. She cares for the elderly, for whom she has a special love. You may have those you call your friends,
Whose presence brings you joy.
You're always glad to be with them.
They seldom do annoy.
Remember all the things you've learned,
As with your friends you've shared.
In many situations
You for them have often cared.
What if you hadn't come this way
To meet these special friends?
Through all of life you would have missed
The blessings it did lend.
I have a friend and not just one,
But many I have made.
Despite our many differences,
Our friendships do not fade.
Their skin is black, and ways so strange,
Their speech, but mumbled sounds.
Day in and out they work to live
Their hearts in darkness bound.
What If I hadn't come this way
To meet these special friends?
Through all of life I would have missed
The blessings it would lend.
What if you should have come this way
But chose to turn aside?
God's very best you will have missed,
Your greatest joy denied.
© Sheryl Splane