There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell. 

It was only a grain,
but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they’re quite plain. 

Now, did he berate
the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him
To such a deplorable state? 

Did he curse at the government,
Cry for election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?
 
‘No,’ he said to himself
As he lay in his shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I shall try to improve it. 

Now the years have rolled around,
As the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny ­ stew. 

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow. 

Now the tale has a moral,
for isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand? 

What couldn’t we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin. 

This is one of my favorite poems. It shows us that we are the ones with the choices to make. We can let something get under our skin and cause problems or we can choose prayer as an avenue of remedy. Prayer and that relationship with God are so very important. Responsible Choices is one of our enduring principals.