Friends

FRIENDS I never had a lot of friends when I was just a boy, It seemed that making fun of me was what would bring them joy. And when I got to teenage years the friends that I made then Led me into some strange new things the Bible says are sin. So when from Cleveland we did move, I wondered who I’d meet, What Christian friends, especially, would make my life complete. I found some friends at work down here who knew the Lord like me And that was such a blessing then, encouraging to be. And then I met YOU here one day but didn’t know back then You someday would my pastor be and such a SPECIAL friend. So as I thought about the friends that God has given me, There is no doubt within my mind the love for you I see. I see a man who walks with God, who listens to His voice, One gifted with such wisdom great when he must make a choice. One who can preach a message with compassion and concern And often in a new approach, some special thing I learn. I cannot count the many times as I sat in my pew I felt the message was just for ME as it came forth from you! I thank you for the times you’ve sat there in your office chair And gave me counsel and advice that I so needed there. I wish we had more time to be together just to talk, To fellowship with lunch or just to take a little walk. I know that there will come a day when life here for me ends And I will go to be with Christ and all my many friends. If that day comes before Christ comes, and if we both should die, I know I’ll be so glad to meet YOU up there in the sky! However many days or years until that day will be, You’ll always be a SPECIAL friend within my life to be! --Dedicated to Dr. Tracy Fowler—September, 2020