Life's Evening Sun

A new work year is beginning and to prepare for it I had to come into work this weekend. Since I was the only one in the building I got to unplug my stereo speakers as I did so. I bought a CD burner a couple of years ago and have put most of my old records and cassettes to CD, and many of them on my harddisk at work. An old Gospel tune came on as I worked.

It was an old Tennessee Ernie Ford song, but in particular, it was by the Jordanaires. The Jordanaires were considered by many when I was growing up, as perhaps the best Southern Gospel quartet around. A new phenomena named Elvis Presley thought this enough to arrange for them to be his back up vocalists in his brand new kingdom. Elvis' dream in life had been to be a Gospel singer. Now he was including this dream as he was shaking the world.

My mother gave me this song back when I was visiting her as I was finishing up my bachelor's degree. I had pulled out of the rat race looking for a new direction and hoped going back to college would help me find it. She presented the album to me when I visited her for the Thanksgiving Day holidays. I was so fixated on my studies that the dinner feast then was about all I allowed myself, even passing up the Dallas Cowboys game on TV.

But to ease the tightness some I put on my mother's album. When this song came on I barely noticed it at first, then almost snickered at the corny words. But the Jordanaires demanded more with the conviction in how they sang it and I stopped to listen.

To be a child
Of God each day
My life must shine
Along the way
I'll sing his praise
While ages roll
I'll strive to help
Some troubled soul.

How did such straightforward, simple, beautiful words get to be so corny. They taught us these things in Sunday School hoping we would be good boys and girls. Then you grow up and you realize your mother didn't know everything much less do everything right, you saw hypocricy, and so many superstitions had crept into religion too.

But these words touched me all over again. While I was growing up, I had forgotten to grow all the way up. These words meant something, Christ's life meant everything. It wasn't corny at all, it was a message that you could only do with, what you knew about it.

And that was the point of all this, the point of life itself. It wasn't about going to church or doing what was right or wrong as much as doing what was real and what worked and what you could do about any of that. Simple truths like in the song. Truths that meant something and were moving.

The only life
That will endure
Is one that's kind
And good and pure
And so for God
I'll take my stand
Each day I'll lend
A helping hand.

Life's evening sun
Is sinking low
A few more days
And I must go
To meet the deeds
That I have done
Where there will be
No setting sun.