"Back Roads"

I’ve traveled on the interstate,

And flown from place to place,

I’m thankful for the travel,

And every smiling face.

But the back roads of my memory,

And slower life back then,

Call me to remember,

The roadways of back when.

I rode in their old Buick,

No Ac or seat belt,

From home up to Wetumpka,

Still remember how I felt,

With Homer and Leolin,

My grandparents, don’t you see,

I drank an RC cola,

Bought a moon pie just for me.

We went to see Aunt Orrie,

Uncle Berry, cousins, too,

On Sunday after church we went,

Like kinfolks used to do.

And sometimes in his old red truck,

Grandaddy sang to me,

I remember “Hold My Hand,”

And the “Uncloudy Day” to be.

Sometimes those roads got winding,

And threw up clouds of dust,

And Dad had to ask directions,

When Momma said he must.

The back seat was a playground,

On the way to where we’d go,

And compared to how they drive today,

Our rate of speed was slow.

But on those farm to markets,

We saw the brightest sights,

Bought peaches, watermelons, too,

From road side stands all right.

One time we took a long road trip,

It was just my Dad and me,

To call on cattle customers,

Around nineteen sixty-three.

From Bama plumb to Kansas,

Then down Oklahoma way,

First time I came through Texas,

And then back home okay.

And we ate in little diners,

Spent nights in the motor lodge,

And more than once at cattle crossings,

The calves we had to dodge.

Two lanes are my history,

And gravel roads the best,

Far from towns and cities,

My growing up was blessed.

And if you’re leaving Weatherford,

Out Bethel Road you go,

Before you get to Tin Top,

Make a strong right turn you know.

And down there near the Brazos bend,

Off a winding two land road,

You’ll see our pastures on the left,

Where the winter rye we sowed.

It dead ends at the river,

So it’s quiet here you see,

Deep in the heart of Texas,

Is where I want to be.

And maybe for a little while,

They won’t build down this way,

And we can still protect the peace,

That folks had yesterday.

On the two lanes of my memory,

Where folks waved when they went by,

And the dust said someone’s coming,

And we were sad to say good-bye.

Yes, the back roads are the best roads,

I still travel them, you see,

And if you want to see America,

That’s where she’ll always be.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NAS)

All the many roads we have traveled and the places we have been are important to the experience of our lives. But ultimately knowing the way to heaven is the most important thing. Jesus did not point us to the way but claimed to be the way. His claim to be the only way to the Father gives us only three options. He either knew He was not the way and His claim was an intentional lie. Or He made an untrue claim and thought it was true, which would make Him a lunatic. Or the third option is that He is the way and spoke the truth. He was a liar, a lunatic or He is Lord. When we accept Jesus as the way, the truth and the life we learn what salvation really means.

Lord, help us accept You as the way, the truth, and the life, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.