"Cowboy Christmas"

A cowboy rides into the yard,

And calls out his hello,

And we step out onto the porch,

Just to let him know,

That strangers can be welcome,

And we don’t mind a guest,

Especially if they rode far,

And need some time to rest.

But this old boy he smiles and says,

He’ll just stay a little awhile,

Steps off, unties his saddle bags,

Then with a great, big smile,

He brings out some presents,

All wrapped with Christmas bows,

And on each one there is a name,

Our crew he somehow knows.

Joe, he gets a pocketknife,

And Randy, a hoof-pick,

Bub, a brand-new wild rag,

And Paul, some mustache stick.

He turned and looked me in the eye,

Here’s something you can use,

To write down your thoughts and prayers,

You never want to lose.

Inside the package plain to see,

I found the pen and page,

All bound in a leather case,

And worth a whole month’s wage.

And then he says to one and all,

I brought you one more thing,

He reaches in the other side,

What else did he bring?

And there for every cowboy,

With the leather tooled to see,

Was a copy of the Good Book,

And to each one there for free.

And as he gave the last one out,

He opened to Luke two,

And then he read aloud the words,

He claimed that they were true.

About the shepherds and the angels,

And the Savior’s humble birth,

And this was how salvation came,

And peace for all on earth.

Then quietly he bowed his head,

And prayed a Christmas prayer,

And all the boys removed their hats,

And not a dry eye there.

I really don’t know who he was,

We often wonder who,

He rode a real nice buckskin horse,

Spread joy, then passed on through.

Come Christmas eve and Christmas day,

The stranger you receive,

Might be the one that God has sent,

To help you to believe.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us…” (Isaiah 9:6, NLT)

The central message of God’s book, the Bible, is that God has given us salvation through His Son. The humble beginnings of Jesus’ birth show us God’s intentionality about connecting with every person, no matter their station in life. He lived and ultimately died that way, and then rose from the dead to give us full access to every gift God wants us to have. The best is salvation itself, but with it comes amazing favors that thrill the heart and satisfy the soul. And it’s all because God chose to do it, and to do it this way.

Lord, help us recognize and receive the gift of Yourself, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jack Sorenson, jacksorensonfineart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jack, and God bless you.