My Thoughts. . .

Monday, 06-29-2020

I have been a minister for sixty-six years.  I am not trained as a counselor, but a few thought I was.  People seeking that profession want to talk with someone about the failures r troubles in their life.   All of us are failures or have problems to one degree or another.  Why?  It is a part of being without perfection.  The song, “My Way” was co-written by Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux, and Paul Anka.  Frank Sinatra made it famous and later Elvis Presley.   Some of the pertinent verses are,

“Regrets, I’ve had a few

But then again, too few to mention . . .

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all, when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out. . .

Although the words of that song do not exactly fit your story nor mine, most of us have seen regrets and chewed on life’s despair.  We see ourselves as failures in some aspects of our life.  Man attempts to make a good living for his family.  Sometimes, due to work, too little time, excuses, fatigue, and attempting to provide things as a substitute for self, our shortcomings fill that void.  Age begins to reveal what hindsight does not want to see.  Regret over those lost moments and failed promises paints some woeful memories.

“Tomorrow” is an often-used promise that becomes yesterday’s regrets.  Little boys and girls grow up.  Dad goes from being a youngster’s Superman to someone who is there physically but missing emotionally.

Reba McEntire sang the song, “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” written by Richard Leigh and Layng Martine, Jr. in 1991.   The lyrics are so true that it makes the song a haunting one.

1st verse:

The greatest man I never knew

Lived just down the hall

And every day we said hello

But never touched at all

He was in his paper

I was in my room

How was I to know he thought I hung the moon

3rd verse:

Then the days turned into years

And the memories to black and white

He grew cold like an old winter wind

Blowing across my life

4th verse:

The greatest words I never heard

I guess I’ll never hear

The man I thought could never die

He’s been dead almost a year

He was good at business

But there was business left to do

He never said he loved me

Guess he thought I knew.

The depression of the thirties kept my dad searching for work.  In 1943 the war took him into the US Navy Construction Battalion.  He never came home because he met someone else.  I did not see him again until 1955 for a few brief hours.  The last time I saw him was around 1957 when he left from West Missouri moving his family to Arizona.  In 1974 he disowned me due to our religious differences.  I never heard from him again.  My sister informed me that he died from Alzheimer in 1995.  He was a stranger in many ways, but I still loved him.

We all have our shortcomings.  That is why we need a Savior.  Not just any Savior.  We all come up short on being sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, grandparents and great grandparents, and as human beings.  Because we are human, we have our regrets.  Thank God that He sent His Word to become our Savior.  I hope you have met and have accepted his cleaning blood.  His name is Jesus.