"Hometown Rodeo"

I sit outside the stalls here,

With friends I’ve known for years,

From Texas plumb to right where,

Been sweet laughter and some tears.

The cowboy talk is drifting,

From horse to cow to friend,

Sometimes the spirits lifting,

Some turn to sadness then.

We’ll speak of one who’s left us,

And just how much we miss,

The way that friendship kept us,

Too many ways to list.

The rodeo will make its call,

Come gather up, let’s go,

Speaks a cowboy’s southern drawl,

Don’t miss this horseback show.

And every year we do it,

But more and more it seems,

To take off and get to it,

Takes effort to extremes.

Or maybe gettin’ older,

Makes travel hard to do,

Or burdens that we shoulder,

Can sure get heavy, too.

So far I try to travel,

From Texas deep, old heart,

Won’t let my age unravel,

How I can do my part,

In this cowboy tradition,

And all it means to me,

The western competition

Of the good old SLE.

It’s really just the cowfolk,

That make this what it is,

The sights and sounds we all soak,

Till it’s over in a whiz.

I thank God for this blessing,

And this good, old way to live,

And I’m always confessing,

That what I wouldn’t give,

To see all of our nation,

Return to these old roots,

Would help this generation,

To wear these hats and boots.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Thought your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18.NIV

Most of us know what it feels like to return home after being gone for a long time. Maybe some of us oome back for an annual family reunion or some other event like our hometown rodeo. The western way of life represents something wholesome to most of us. LIving closer to the land with family faith and values is something many of us have lost. Wouldn’t it be something if we listened to God’s invitation to come home to Him and have our sins forgiven. It’s a return that we would never regret, and a cleansing that would change us forever.

Lord, help us return to You, in Jesus’ name.

Photography by J.L. Grief, used by permission. Thanks, and God bless.