"Dad's Life"

I was looking through the boxes,

After my old Daddy died,

What I found surprised me,

I sat awhile and sighed.

So many things about him,

I never really knew,

Like a handful of war medals,

He got in World War II.

There were letters to my Mama,

When their love was young,

He even penned a verse or two,

Of love songs that they’d sung.

I found a dried-out bridle,

And a well-used snaffle bit,

A belt with ranger buckle,

Carved words that said “Don’t Quit.”

Found a mortgage on a farm house,

That he and granddad built,

Plans from Progressive Farmer,

And dust as thick as silt.

And underneath the papers,

Was a hand-held old King James,

And in the front were listed,

A bunch of family names.

And then a page there dated,

Were marriages and births,

And when my Dad was baptized,

Can’t tell you what that’s worth.

He went down to the river,

Was only ten years old,

With others praising Jesus,

And now the story’s told.

I saw these bits and pieces,

Of a life that’s long since gone,

I got a wistful feeling,

Not sure if right or wrong.

But not my Daddy’s little boy,

But now a man full-grown,

And not so very far from when,

The Good Lord took him home.

Life in faded photographs,

And scraps of letters thin,

Near eighty years till dying breath,

His heart gave out back when.

But in the words still leather-bound,

A dog-eared page I read,

The chapter Dad said got him through,

When the ancient psalmist said,

The  Lord my Shepherd cares for me,

I shall not be in need,

In pastures green, ‘side waters still,

He my soul will feed.

And though death’s valley threatens,

I will no evil fear,

His rod and staff they comfort me,

And He is always near.

The table set, the oil pours down,

The overflowing cup,

Goodness, mercy follow me,

Till all my time is up.

And always and forever,

I with the Lord will dwell,

He gives me everything I need,

And saves my soul from hell.

I closed the Book and wiped my eyes,

I know life’s not in vain,

Because along with my old Dad,

I call on Jesus’ name.

One day the bits and pieces,

The memories they’ll find,

But they cannot contain the whole,

Because I’ve left behind,

This old world and all its charms,

They’ve lost their hold on me,

Gone to where the angels sing,

In heaven’s pastures free.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1, NIV)

A well-known psalm, but no less powerful. To recognize that because we belong to the Lord every need is met is an astounding revelation. What if we believed it? What if every threat was met by the faith that says the Lord is with us and He will take care of it? What if we actually had no fear, even when faced with death itself? When you stop to think about it, Psalm 23 is about as profound as it gets! But the final affirmation is the best of all. “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God wants all of us to be sure, and only the Shepherd can make it so.

Lord, make us sure, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bruce Greene, used by permission. Thanks, Bruce, and God bless you.