"Old Rodeo"

Lost in some old rodeo ring,

Or old pens in the back,

Where rough stock they’d unload and bring,

And broncs would wild untrack,

Behind the chutes where roping steers,

Were held before they ran,

And cowboys fought down all their fears,

And waved their one free hand.

And in those places long ago,

I went since just a kid,

From the first I loved it so,

And never could be rid,

Of all the many sights and sounds,

Memories  bold and clear,

And ever more in every round,

When rodeo time Is near.

The God and country theme is there,

No way they’d leave it out,

Stand and pray, allegiance swear,

No apologies, no doubts.

And all life’s factors, pain and loss,

Are found there in those chutes,

Reflecting how they paid the cost,

When living life in boots.

Ups and downs and big applause,

And when there is defeat,

Get back up and never pause,

To rise, regain your seat.

At every opportunity,

The whoop and spur is real,

The enemy is on the run,

God’s judgment soon he’ll feel.

The blood and sweat and thrill we get,

The fast eight second ride,

Though long ago we see it yet,

And honestly confide,

That rodeo reflects the past,

We lived and could again,

And makes us value visions cast,

And good things from back when.

“…but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14, NAS)

Paul counsels the importance of forgetting what lies behind. But what does this really mean? There is plenty that we’ve experienced that we should never forget and should always call to remembrance. So Paul surely cannot mean that we literally forget. What it really means is that we let nothing from our past to hurt and hinder us. We can remember without pain and learn exactly what God is trying to teach us from it.

Lord, help us to live in the present, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Clark Kelley Price, used by permission. Thanks, Clark, and God bless you.