Echoes From the Campfire

Pray for me with your eyes to the mighty hills, and in the quiet of evening when all Nature is listening.”
                –Zane Grey  (Captive of the Desert)

    “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
                –Revelation 21:27 (NIV)
———————–
I was relaxing on the couch, debating whether or not to take a nap or read, when Alexa (yes, to my shame, we own one of those contraptions–I know it is spying on us) began to play Floyd Cramer came on and in his famous style played “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere.”  Now, few of you know Floyd Cramer, and fewer yet know “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere,” (hmmm, but all of you know Alexa) but I started humming and the words, at least of the first verse and chorus came back.  This was not a hymn we sang in church, but it must have been popular at one time for it was sung at President William McKinley’s funeral.
    There are days, in fact, there are seasons when life might not seem to be going your way.  There are times when the blues hit you, but that is when you need to rejoice and praise the Lord all the more.  Just look at that first verse, God lives–Jesus rose from the grave, the tomb is empty–therefore, all is well!  You may go outside, and the day is overcast and dreary and all you hear is the sound of crows cawing, but, somewhere there are songbirds and somewhere the sun is shining–rejoice, your day is coming.

         “Somewhere the sun is shining,
          Somewhere the songbirds dwell;
          Hush, the, thy sad repining,
          God lives, and all is well.”
                  –Jessie Brown Pounds

    I don’t know much about this hymn or the lady that wrote it.  I do know that she was in poor health and eventually married a pastor.  She wrote several books during her lifetime and four hundred hymns.  She maybe felt that her illness would do her in, and felt at times it was overwhelming, I don’t know, but from the words of this hymn, I do know that she saw the future.  Ahead, somewhere, victory was there, the prize would be won, the task would be over.

         “Somewhere the day is longer,
          Somewhere the task is done;
          Somewhere the heart is stronger,
          Somewhere the prize is won.”

    There is that day when the cares and burden of the world will be lifted.  We do not like to think of death, but on that day when a person moves from this world into glory they will see the angels waiting along with their risen Lord.  My Pastor, last week in his sermon made a comment (he said it was not originally his) but it surely fits in here.  If a person has chosen hell to be their destiny then their life on earth is as close to heaven as they’ll ever be, conversely, if a person has been born again by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, then life on this earth is as close to hell as they’ll ever be.  Let that sink in and rest assured, we have glory that awaits us and a life that is anew for eternity.

         “Somewhere the load is lifted,
          Close by an open gate;
          Somewhere the clouds are rifted,
          Somewhere the angels wait.

                 Somewhere, somewhere,
                 Beautiful Isle of Somewhere!
                 Land of the true, where we live anew,
                 Beautiful Isle of Somewhere!”