"Saddle Leather"

He led me to the saddle leather,

I wondered right then if and whether,

I was ready for the ride,

Made me want to run and hide.

 

But somethin’ ‘bout that hand-made carving,

Stirred my hunger, felt like starving,

For the windy, sunlit plain,

Flying horseback tail and mane.

 

And so I sat that hand-made wood,

Brass studs and stirrups, showed I could,

And from my youth the saddle throwed,

For decades now the horses rode.

 

Horsemen I have known, admired,

But seen them then grow old, retired,

Said good-bye when they let go,

Crossed over to bright heaven’s glow.

 

They led me to the saddle leather,

A rocking chair, and not sure whether,

I was ready for the ride,

Made me want to run and hide.

Interesting the brass studs here,

Carved, old leather, see it clear,

Reminds me of that long ago,

When I was scared to ride, you know.

 

But rocking here I look outside,

My mind goes back to times I tried,

To gather up the wild bovine,

And horseback go the cattle find.

 

Sometimes I think that I’m still there,

Loping cross the plain somewhere,

And then they come and say let’s go,

It’s time to serve our food, you know.

 

Sitting there one afternoon,

I dreamed the stars and sun and moon,

Whispered, said we’ve come for you,

You’re done with this life, this is true.

 

They led me to a saddled horse,

And I was young and strong, of course,

And then the Lord said, son, let’s ride,

And I will honestly confide,

 

Earth-bound was how I had thought,

Guess some mental virus caught,

But this is what life is about,

Eternity, without a doubt.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4, NLT)

Because the reality of this world is so overwhelming, we are often tempted to lose sight of eternity. But God’s Word points us to the beauty of what is to come. The child of God may live with full assurance that they are going to live forever in that place where all things are made right and new. So filled with God’s presence and power, heaven will one day cause the painful memies of this world to recede. We will know as we are known, and we will live forever with Him.

Lord, help us to live in heaven’s inspiration until we go there, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.

Brad McClain