"Ride"

I rode to town to make my rounds,

And buy some things I need,

A spool of wire, I do admire,

That twelve per cent horse feed.

And standin’ there, without a care,

Old cowboy friend of mine,

Hat pushed back, and jeans so slack,

Plumb skinny his outline.

He said, hey you, how do you do,

And we paused to talk a bit,

Said you look well, he said aw hell,

That chemo gave me fits.

I wish I knew, I had no clue,

That you had been that sick,

He said I know, it goes to show,

How these things happen quick.

So now I’m done, the tests are run,

Say there’s no hope for me,

May be a year, then gone from here,

We’ll have to wait and see.

I thought of times a-horseback fine,

When we the rough string rode,

And all the years, laughter and tears,

Me and my friend had knowed.

Way back when, young cowboys then,

Without a single care,

Now old and sick, without a trick,

Seems long from here to there.

I shook his hand, said here’s the plan,

You call me soon, you hear,

I’ll saddle Blue, that’s what we’ll do,

We’ll ride the old frontier.

A week went past, seemed really fast,

Then my cell phone rang,

His daughter cried, my old friend died,

We gathered, prayed and sang.

The memories good, and well they should,

Come back at times like these,

But best of all, in God’s roll call,

Through Christ, the Father’s pleased.

And yet I think, when spirits sink,

I will in you confide,

In heaven fine, he’ll spur and shine,

Still wish we had that ride.

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God…” (Epheisans 2:8, NLT)

Life happens and then it’s gone. The only way it makes any sense is when the grace of of God is factored in. God planned our lives long before we were born. He planned the grace that would save us, and then empower us to do the good He designed for us to accomplish. He considers us His masterpiece, and something He uses to illustrate the wealth of His grace. This doesn’t mean we have no choice in the matter. We do, and our choices either cooperate with or rebel against the grace. But start to finish, that’s what life is about. Grace is is our preparation for and assurance concerning our eternal destiny. It’s all and always about grace. Believe it.

Lord, grace us that we may grace others, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, markmaggiori.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.