Welcome back. It's Monday, February 17, 2025, and I bid you a warm welcome on this almost cold morning here in Southeast Texas. We are supposed to have some really cold weather later in the week but I'm counting on the forecasters to be wrong. Again. It's okay for them to be wrong especially when we avoid serious weather threats. That happened to us this past weekend where they had predicted serious storms for our area but the weather front moved north and east of us, thankfully. That system did do a lot of damage including the deaths of a number of folks. We made a turnaround trip over to Louisiana Saturday to attend the Homegoing Celebration of a former neighbor, a friend, a man of God, and an all around sweetheart of a person, Billy Bush. He was 92 years young. His family actually lived next door to us in the small village where I was mostly reared. This means I had known him for over 70 years and he and his family, our neighbors, were more like family. Really. At any rate we attended the service in the sanctuary of the Church meeting place where the wife and I started out our dating time beginning in 1962. Lots of memories. Many of the children of the folks who've gone on to their reward actually look like their parents because they sit in roughly the same area and they do favor them. Lots of memories, indeed! The service was great. Jesus was the main focus since that was Bro. Billy's focus as a teacher of God's Word since 1958. I had a chance to visit briefly with a fellow I played baseball with back in the early 1960's. He was known for being one of the hardest throwers around. He could be wild at times but he was good. I asked him if he remembered that game we played against Rosepine. Yep, he did. I asked if he remembered surprising me as the third baseman with a pick-off play that he had never done and I didn't see it coming. Yep, he did. In fact, he said that player from Rosepine was likely still running today. We had a good laugh. It was a game losing play on my part since I didn't see the ball coming and it sailed into the woods. We both remembered it, more than 60 years ago. See our our minds work. There were wonderful wins and plays galore, but, I am hard pressed to remember those, but, that mistake, that error, the bad play, still haunts me to this day. The wife and I spent about seven hours on the road but we enjoyed our visit and she and I got to spend some time walking down memory lane as we recalled those 'old days' in our lives. I didn't say the good old days since they were not all good and we actually only have today to do something of value on behalf of our Lord and our family. Amen.
One of the things that really stirs the emotions is when they sing the same songs in the same way from way back then. They had a choir made up of anyone who wanted to get up there. Most of them grew up learning to sing parts so they made a joyful noise to the Lord. The song that really took me back was the one I used to hear on Saturday evenings where I attended services primarily to see my honey, 'Glad Reunion Day', written by Adger M. Pace, released in 1940. Here are some of the lyrics:
[Verse 1]
There will be a happy meeting in Heaven, I know
When we see the many loved ones we've known here below
Gathered on the blessed hilltops with hearts all aglow
That'll be a glad reunion day
[Chorus]
A glad day, a wonderful day
Glad day, a glorious day
There with all the holy angels and loved ones to stay
That'll be a glad reunion day
[Verse 2]
When we live a million years in that wonderful place
Basking in the love of Jesus, beholding His face
It'll seem but just a moment of praising God's grace
That'll be a glad reunion day
[Chorus]
A glad day, a wonderful day
Glad day, a glorious day
There with all the holy angels and loved ones to stay
That'll be a glad reunion day
Wow! What a thought! In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 13, we read, Verse 29) "People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." In the Book of the Revelation, Chapter 7, Verse 9 we get this insight, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands....." Makes me want to go there, how about you? Until next time, may God add His blessings.
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