"Circle"

I rode out of a mornin’,

With a cool breeze on my face,

Gone to make a circle,

Ride that old Brazos place.

I knew where steers were usin’,

I thought I might ride through,

I had what I needed,

To doctor just a few.

But I rode two full hours,

Before I saw a one,

I really didn’t mind too much,

So nice out in the sun.

I rode up on a yearling,

Standing all alone,

Never is a good sign,

When they from others roam.

And sure enough he’s coughing,

And runny-eyed and sick,

I thought that I should catch him,

And give a shot real quick.

And everything went perfect,

Till I went to let him go,

Old rope it burned my fingers,

It shouldn’t have, I know.

But sometimes seems I find a way,

To lose a little skin,

And aggravate myself a lot,

By gettin’ hurt and then,

It makes the ride home longer,

Can even spoil the day,

A rope burn on a knuckle,

Or hurt some other way.

When I think about it,

It goes that way with life,

The morning starts all pleasant,

But ends up with some strife.

I guess it’s unavoidable,

There’s gonna be some hurt,

We can’t always stop it,

Though we try to stay alert.

And not always the big ones,

That give us lots of pain,

But sometimes the small storms,

Though brief they still bring rain.

But it takes both the sun and rain,

To cause something to grow,

There’s got to be both fun and pain,

So that we learn and know,

The Lord, He leads the circle,

It’s all about His plan,

He uses all that happens,

Our life is in His hand.

“…By His wounds you are healed…” (1 Peter 2:24, NLT)

Jesus died to heal us of every wound. God uses our hurts to teach us, but ultimately He removes them from us. That doesn’t mean we no longer remember them. But because of His grace, we are able to remember without the same emotions and pain. This healing is tied directly to our willingness to forgive those who have wounded us. No matter how deep the wound, the wounds of Jesus are deeper. And the grace released through His suffering is powerful enough to help us overcome everything that gives us pain.

Lord, heal every wound, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Dane, dondane.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.