Quittin' Time

Job 7:1-2

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? 2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

Sometimes as I am thumbing through the Bible and reading God's love letter to me, a passage will strike a cord in my heart that gets me to thinking of where I've been, where I am and where I'm going. The above passage is one of them.

As I sit here peckin' at the keyboard my mind is running back to days gone by and a long straight row in the cotton patch. Now most of you will not be able to relate to a young lad of a boy of ten or twelve years pulling a 7 foot cotton sack while bent over a row of cotton. Rest assured it wasn't my idea and I didn't really want to be there The only reason I was in the cotton patch at all was because that is where mom and dad wanted me.

There are many things more exciting than reaching into the stalk and grabbing cotton from open bolls. About the only times the monotony of picking was broken was when your cousin whizzed a green boll or dirt clod past your ear. If you were fortunate the missile would fly harmlessly by but occasionally the aim was better than you wished for. These clod and boll fights had to be done discretely as you were under the watchful eye of the grownups which were known to deliver stern rebuke or worse. Child abuse wasn't known at the time.

About the only other dangers you might face were stinging caterpillars, spiders and the occasional wasp nest hidden under the broad leaves of the cotton plant. Looking back now I can smile and reminisce about the good old days but at the time all I wanted was the sun to set low on the horizon "as a servant earnestly desireth the shadow". As a growing boy I knew that at the end of the day my grandmother would have supper on the table and and the reward of supper sure made the toil more tolerable.

Times change in some ways and in others they will never change. As I approach the end of my row and I can see the sun getting lower in the west I know there is a supper waiting for me that will put all other tables to shame. My heavenly Father will have a table spread that will be fit for a king. Sitting around that table will be all my family. That means you and you and you if you are part of my Father's household.

Yes, "as a hireling" I am looking for the reward my Father has for me. What ever the reward will be it will be more than I deserve. Just as I goofed off in the cotton patch too often, I have also neglected my Father's "row" much too often.

Still all in all as I am nearing the end of my row I look forward to weighing my meager pickins and putting my sack away. Home looks good!
Written by Brother Dwight Rhodes



SUPPER TIME

When I was but a boy in days of childhood
I used to play till evening shadows come.
Then winding down an old familiar pathway
I heard my mother call at set of sun

Come home, come home
it's supper time
the shadows lengthen fast.
Come home, come home,
it's supper time
we're going home at last.

One day beside her bedside I was kneeling,
and angel wings were winnowing through the air.
She heard her call for supper time in heaven
and now I know she's waiting for me there.

Come home, come home
it's supper time
The shadows lengthen fast.
Come home, come home,
it's supper time,
we're going home at last.

In visions now I see her standing yonder,
and her familiar voice I hear once more.
The banquet table's ready up in heaven,
It's supper time upon that golden shore.

Come home, come home
it's supper time,
The shadows lengthen fast.
Come home, come home,
it's supper time,
we're going home at last.
We're going home at last.

Ira F Stanphill