A Poem About Avery by Shirley Jones, March 2003

Landry woke this morning and exclaimed, "It is Valentine's Eve!"  Tomorrow is a fun day of celebration that includes mucho sugar!  We shower the ones we love with cards, candy, flowers (hint to the Clarkster), and gifts.  We think about how much we LOVE the ones that the Lord has blessed us with.  However, do we think of all of the ones that the Lord placed in our lives that love US?  It feels oh, so good to be loved!  I am thankful for the many people that love me deeply for who I am, with all of my faults and flaws.  I am blessed to say the list is too long to name them all. 

 

I mentioned in an earlier post about discovering our treasure of  memories when cleaning up the basement.  I ran across two poems that I wanted to include in my blog.  I waited until Valentine's Day (Eve) to post them, because I was overwhelmed by feeling loved when I rediscovered them in our boxes of memories.  Sis. Shirley Jones took precious time out of her busy life to write this poem for us about Avery when he was 5 years old.  It was the spring before he started kindergarten.  As I read the poem aloud to Clark, I was warmed by her love for our us and our son.  She wrote it during a time that our Lighthouse ladies were focusing on each church family's children during our Daughter of Zion prayer.  Prayers for my children are priceless.  Thank you, Sis. Jones, for your  love and this beautiful poem that brought back so many memories!

Avery Matthew Presson

Avery is special, as a little boy he is fine

I hope that I get him as my prayer child next time
But whether or not, that pleasure I find
I will pray for your boys, as if they were mine.

I know how it feels to not have a little girl
No bows or frilly dresses, no long hair to curl
Little boys grow up, they become big and strong
But they are so special, because they are your own.

We'll always remember the boy their dad used to be
He has set an example for our son to see.

I'll always remember Avery running down the aisle
He would come into the office and always have a smile.
He was looking for his Papaw, his patience very short
When he could not find him, he got all out of sorts.

Next year he'll be in school, your days will be quiet
You'll still want to hug him, but he'll resist with all his might.
Pretty soon he'll grow up, a young man you will see
You'll remember how you held him and bounced him high upon your knee.

Yes, boys are so special, I wouldn't trade them for all
The girls in this world who are lanky and tall.

We love you and your boys, you've become a part of us
Although we're not related with pride we can burst.
I've kept them in the nursery, watched them grow through their years
You've done a good job, I pray God will calm all your fears.

You've done all you can to give them a good start in this world
You’ve worked and you've planned though your heart's been in a whirl.
God is still faithful, your burdens to share
He'll send peace to your heart when you want to pull your hair.

Avery has grown up, God's path he's been taught to follow
The day soon will come when he'll want to borrow a dollar.
He's played with computers, growing up with a cell phone
Just think about the good days, when you're sitting alone.

God has another soldier to fight his battles today
Through prayer and much fasting you are paving the way

Be happy and thankful, Avery's love you have known
He'll be there for a while, but one day he'll be gone.
To find his own place, and in God's service to stay
Another lost soul needs him to show him the way.

A dedicated life is all he has known
You can rest assured, he has had a good home.
To Grandparents and church family, a special boy he will be
He has many good examples hanging on his family tree.

I hear news of the war, the terrible bombs in the night
I think of our boys, my heart fills with fright.
God's love is always able to keep us safe through our life
He puts angels all around us to take away our fear and strife.

From this moment forward, God wants you to know
That he will walk with Avery, through the sun or the snow.
When you cannot be there, God is always around
No matter the troubles, His grace doth abound.

Avery has to travel, from your home to the sky
God's love will go with him, and that love will never die.
You can't sit back and relax now, although you’ve fought a good fight
Two lives have been born through you, and you've prayed with all your might.

Just keep right on praying, and singing your song
What seems like forever will not be very long.
Some day when you are older a man Avery will be
He may have many children for you to bounce on your knee.

Maybe he will have a daughter your spitting image she will be
You’ll smile as you hold her, and say, “I think she looks like me.”
God's love and His mercy are important to share
They are much more important than tying shoes or combing hair.

Avery is your little boy and he will always be
He may choose to be a postman, fireman, accountant, or maybe all three.
Of all the careers, he may choose with all his heart
You have done all you can, you and Clark have done your part.

Shirley Jones  March 22, 2003

My pre-k 5 year old Avery, close to the time this was written...during the time of The Patch!

Part 2 coming soon entitled, Riley Lance Presson.