Pondering

I ponder the “what ifs” of my life,

The wide range of possibilities,

            A broad spectrum

            From disaster

To spectacular.

I recount the “supposes of my life,

The infinite complexities

            Puzzle pieces,

            Some dovetailing,

Others in hopeless tangle.

I indulge in a dream of “if onlys,”

Those happy coincidences

            That propel one,

            Soaring upward,

To grand success.

I shudder at life’s “near misses,”

Those frightening times.

            When something unspeakable

            Was inches

Or seconds away.

I bow in gratitude to Him,

Whose all-powerful hand

            Has in the maze

            Pointed and pushed

And protected.

I wrote this decades ago, and it was published in a denominational magazine in 1985.  It still expresses my feelings about my life and the course it has taken.