"Young Man"

The young man looked me in the eye,

And firmly shook my hand,

Said yessir and no sir,

Polite to beat the band.

He wore a well-creased cowboy hat,

His boots were worn but clean,

His shirt was tucked down in his jeans,

As sharp as I have seen.

I asked him what was on his mind,

He handed me a sheet,

References and things he’d done,

And thanked me for the meet.

Said he hoped that he could work,

For me the summer through,

One more year of high school,

Was what he hoped to do.

We had had a real wet spring,

And there was lots of grass,

The cattle were all doing well,

Calves gaining weight real fast.

So I said he could go to work,

I called our cow boss in,

They met and headed out the door,

And tomorrow he’d begin.

I have to say I was impressed,

By what this young man did,

Never late, he tried real hard,

I grew proud of this kid.

One evenin’ we unsaddled,

With no one else around,

I asked about his family,

And where he lived in town.

He said his daddy passed away,

When he was only three,

So he and Mom did what they could,

They both worked hard so he,

Would have the chance for college,

His goal to be a vet,

I saw a look come in his eyes,

Mine got a little wet.

I was present when he crossed the stage,

His high school graduation,

At the top of his whole class,

We had quite a celebration.

And soon got his acceptance,

To the college where he went,

Good grades and rodeoing,

I helped with what he spent.

And every spring he’d come on back,

To work the summer through,

I watched as he became a man,

Amazed what he could do.

I was there the night they handed him,

The magna cum degree,

And acceptance into vet school,

He introduced to me,

A pretty little cowgirl,

Brunette with eyes of blue,

Later asked me what I thought,

Said she looks just right for you.

I stood beside him on the day,

The two made sacred vows,

And later horseback, time to talk,

As we checked the cows.

By then doctor by his name,

He had reached his goal,

Ready to go and make his mark,

It touched my very soul.

I asked him what he planned to do,

He said, “Come work for you,”

I smiled and simply shook his hand,

And hoping that he knew,

That he was like a son to me,

The one I never had,

And for the years that I had left,

The ranch would make us glad.

That’s exactly what has happened,

My, how the years have flown,

Life filled with kids and cattle,

He has three of his own.

And now the doctor tells me,

That I don’t have much more,

I’m layin’ here a-prayin’,

There’s someone at the door.

A younger man, now older,

With a well-creased cowboy hat,

It’s still yessir and no sir,

What do you think of that?

Some folks think there is no hope,

That younger folks don’t care,

But I’ve got news, there still are some,

I know them, they are there.

He takes my wrinkled hand in his,

And looks me in the eye,

I’m glad to pass the torch to him,

Before I’m bound to die.

God gives us people in our lives,

And some will prove their worth,

It’s those that make the difference,

Before we leave this earth.

“Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them along to others.” (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

The Bible lays out the best way to pass along and perpetuate what God has entrusted to us. In relationships of trust and reliability we mentor those who are eager to learn. Jesus did this with His disciples. He taught many, but discipled a few. Paul taught many, but discipled a handful of reliable men like Timothy. We are called to make disciples, not just converts. All the various expressions of teaching have their place. But nothing can take the place of close relationships. Who can you mentor?

Lord, show us those whom we can best influence for You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jason Rich, jasonrichstudios.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jason, and God bless you.