"Last Stand"

They didn’t see it comin’,

I guess nobody did,

They said he had been bluesy,

And couldn’t seem to rid,

Himself of his old dark moods,

Which hit him in the night,

A way off in that cow camp,

It’s where he lost the fight.

One day he missed the check-in,

With the cow boss’ daily call,

Didn’t think too much about it,

But by next day checking, y’all,

They found him in the cabin,

With a pistol in his hand,

A note there on the table,

Describing his last stand.

Said he was gettin’ older,

And the life was gettin’ hard,

And his old doc had told him,

That like one of his pards,

He had a bad, old cancer,

And wouldn’t live too long,

Before the sickness took him,

And he just thought it wrong,

To wait for that to happen,

So he chose this for his end,

With apologies to everyone,

And especially his friends.

And they all stood in silence,

As the young ones said good-bye,

And the older men were shaken,

And some began to cry.

The carefree, horseback cowboy,

With a feather in his hat,

Wild and free and happy,

And an icon, all of that,

Is not always the picture,

Of the real life that he leads,

And like every one of us,

There’s some things that he needs.

A steady wage with future,

So he can rope and ride,

People who are loyal,

With whom he can confide.

And, yes, he needs the grace of God,

And Jesus who will save,

The assurance of salvation,

For what’s beyond the grave.

So pray for that old cowboy,

That he’ll get just what he needs,

And don’t neglect the obvious,

When the crop of all his seeds,

Aren’t all that he expected,

And the weight of what he chose,

Doesn’t give him what he thought,

And now, too late, he knows.

And everyone we know who’s down,

Let’s lend a helping hand,

To love and share God-given hope,

And help them make a stand.

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment…” (Romans 5:5, NLT)

All of us have been disappointed, some worse than others. Some people have decided that the best way to cope with their trampled hopes is to simply not hope for much anymore. The idea is to lower your expectations so you won’t get disappointed again. But that’s a pretty sad way to live, though understandable if you’ve been devastated long enough. What’s the answer? God’s word tells us about a hope that will never lead to disappointment. People will let you down. God never will. Sometimes your hope is just a thin little wish that embraces the unlikely possibility that things will improve. But if directed toward the Lord, and fed by the truth, that hope can get stronger, lead to faith, and a better life. Don’t give up.

Lord, feed our hope, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Alfredo Rodriguez, used by permission. Thanks, Alfredo, and God bless you.