A mate's a year older!

How old today ol’ David R U now?

This annivers'ry of your birth back then,

when you came into this world here somehow,

then somehow people cared and helped you when

you were so helpless, couldn't even feed

yourself, or clean yourself from dirty muck,

or talk, or walk, or understand, or read.

I think you've come a long way now ol’ buck!

Been looking at some people like that who

we're quite unable to fix up their plight*

& thanking God for what good's come to you,

that’s even with those hard times there last night.

And glad to know that you have one so big,

in mercy and in skill to grow you more,

who’ll follow to enable you to “dig”

and understand, and do your work that’s core,

yet won't be satisfied with appearance,

but wants a deeper inside work done well,

to this end he’ll do more interference

to save you, and your family from “hell” -

for “hell”’s a rubbish dump for all that won't

let heaven transform it to be full grown,

mature like God’s Messiah, so Dave don’t

think anyone arrives without a groan°.

Another day clicked over, 'nother year,

and less than five hundred will add one more.

Oh God, help David to help on and cheer

all those he has responsibil’ty for! ^

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*  Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’  When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no-one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’. Luke 17:11‭-‬19 NIVUK

° Yeshua groaned more than once, e.g. Mark 7, Mark 8, & Hebrews

^ firstly, himself as a “son of” his “father” the one God has christened “Leader of Humanity”, then his wife, his daughter, and any others he is blessed with who will depend on him.