"Long Gone"

All of ‘em came lookin’,

Midst the quakies way up high,

But I was long gone from the mountain,

Had already said good-bye,

To my old saddle partner,

John said for me to go,

Been long upon the mountain,

And my sweetheart waited, so,

I came down to the valley,

I rode down from the steep,

And there I found my true love,

For all the years to keep.

And she had been a-waitin’,

Since way back in the fall,

And so away together,

Not once looked back atall.

Went straight and found the preacher,

A few miles down the road,

And there we made our promise,

And I think he knowed,

That we were in a hurry,

So he kept his sermon brief,

And then saddled up and long gone,

Much to my relief.

Next day we heard the riders,

A comin’ hard our way,

But we kept our horses quiet,

And they went by okay.

And every day or two or three,

We’d see a cloud of dust,

And so we kept on movin’,

‘Cause I knew that we must,

Escape her pop and brothers,

Who’d never let us wed,

And so they meant to chase us down,

Least that’s what they said.

But sweet beside the campfire,

We made our new-found home,

And promised one another,

One day we’d no more roam.

Four distant counties over,

Three hundred miles away,

I took a job a-horseback,

The boss said we could stay.

And there we raised our family,

And tried to raise ‘em right,

And now they’re grown and long-gone,

And just the other night,

I dreamed of when we ran away,

With nothing but our love,

And knew the Good Lord blessed us,

His kindness from above.

The next day she came callin’,

In the early mornin’ light,

It really wasn’t like him,

To sleep late of a night.

His hands were gently folded,

A smile upon his face,

And she saw he was long gone,

To his final resting place.

It wasn’t long ‘fore she left, too,

To join him in the sky,

They always said if he went first,

That she’d soon say good-bye.

Some would call them foolish,

But they had no regrets,

To live the life God gave them,

They tell the stories yet,

Of their great old great-grandparents,

Who made their lovers ride,

How they lived and loved each other,

And finally how they died.

“For to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better…” (Philippians 1:21, NLT)

Life is meant to be lived, and when we live for Christ He blesses us with what He described as abundant life. It’s not without trials, trouble and risks. But nothing compares to being able to live in fellowship with our Creator and find the purpose for which we were created. Paul says life is about knowing Jesus, and dying is even better. Why? Because death is a doorway into the Lord’s presence forever. To live? It’s about Him. And dying? It’s about Him, too.

Lord, help us live for You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Teal Blake, tealblake.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Teal, and God bless you.