My Cup Runneth Over

I really love connecting and re-connecting with my family and friends but sometimes it can be so tiring! I think as I got older, I became more adept at avoiding negativity especially coming from friends and acquaintances. I’m having difficulty with family. That’s how it usually is with family though. I understand that. They are not as easy to just let go.

As much as I love having friends, superficial friends are usually very easy for me to let go without even missing a breath. I had a friend that I liked very much when I was still single. We did a lot of partying together and just had fun times. I wouldn’t put her in the category of close and intimate though, just party and fun friend. When the time came for me to get married, my true friends and most of my family were supportive of my decision and my choice. When I announced my plans to this friend she made one simple and glib comment: “oh, but your house will become dark now”. No, she wasn’t lamenting the end of my bachelorhood; it was a sly reference to the fact that I was marrying someone who is black. No, I didn’t get mad at her then, I didn’t bother trying to change her mind either. I just made that be the last of our conversation.

While visiting the Philippines the other month, a matter of fact comment was made that has stuck with me since like an itch I couldn’t scratch. While going through the ritual of catching up; asking how is so and so, and how are they doing, where they live now, how many kids, etc. Out of nowhere, someone commented rather casually to me, “I heard Sister O is the luckiest of all you three”. Huh? Now I have never very been very quick on the uptake and it usually takes underhanded comments to sink in with me, so this time was no different. I suppose I should have asked for clarification what they meant by that comment. But, knowing the source, I can only deduce that by ‘lucky’ she meant ‘wealthy’. So I said, “if you mean that she has the bigger house and the bigger bank account, then I suppose yes, she is the luckiest” and left if at that. Now I wish I hadn’t.


I wish I had said that all three of us were lucky. We’re lucky because we are still alive and relatively healthy. We’re lucky because we have been blessed with square shoulders for our normal sized heads to sit on. We’re lucky because even when we’ve been unlucky in life, we never used it as an excuse to hurt someone else. We’re lucky because even though we don’t have riches, what little blessings we have in our life we earned by honest means. We are lucky we were blessed with bright and independent minds that do not need validation from others. We are lucky that we genuinely love each other as sisters. We are lucky that we are surrounded by people who love us and accept us for the people that we have become.

I wish I had said all that and more, but I didn’t. I sat there and agreed because I didn’t want to be rude. But I should have, because the more I think about it, it was rather crass. Maybe I am a bit defensive too, that I didn’t get picked to be the ‘lucky’ one in their eyes. I hope not.

I hope I am not that shallow, because I do consider myself quite lucky. Nevermind that my house isn’t as big, my cup still runneth over. The third stanza to this poem sounds like it was written with me in mind.

DRINKING FROM MY SAUCER

I've never made a fortune
And it's probably too late now,
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow.

And as I go along life's journey
I'm reaping better than I sowed
and I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Don't have a lot of riches,
And sometimes the going's tough.
But I got three kids that love me
And that makes me rich enough.

I just thank God for his blessings,
And the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Oh, I Remember times when things went wrong
And my faith got a little bit thin,
But then all at once the dark clouds broke,
And that old sun peeked through again.

So Lord, help me not to gripe
About the tough roads that I've hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

And if God gives me strength and courage,
When the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy,
To help another bear his load
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Written and copyrighted
by
John Paul Moore in 1970