He had been greeting the day with a cup of coffee for a lot of years.”
–Brad Dennison (Wandering Man)
Here it is, Pard. We knew that this day would one day arrive and thar ain’t nothin’ we can do ’bout it. We just have to take it as it comes; it’s the last Saturday of December, that means the last Saturday of 2024. Ponder that, Pard. It means that this is the last Saturday we’ll be sharin’ coffee and palaverin’ ’til next year. So yuh had better enjoy that cup. Drink it with kind affection.
Pard, we all should be takin’ time in the next few days to reflect back on the past year. It’s gone, but what we need to do is remember the lessons that hopefully were learned, and store the grand memories it provided. Yuh can’t be goin’ back to relive any of it, an’ that’s a good thing. Last year was and is just that–last year. Tomorrow is where we look now, but not too closely or too far ahead. The ol’ ‘postle James warns us not to count your chickens before they hatch. Actually he put it a little more clearly–“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'” (4:14-15, NIV)
Pard, go ‘head, finish that cup an’ I’ll pour yuh another. See, the Lord doesn’t promise us another cup next Saturday in 2025. Now, get this, He is not against plannin’ ahead or workin’ out a schedule; in fact, we should do that. But He is tellin’ us that thar ain’t no guarantee that it will come to pass. Things happen along the trail… One thing that is a guarantee an’ that the Lord will be travelin’ with us through 2025 an’ will be keepin’ us just like He has in all the past years. Some folk didn’t make it to see the comin’ of the new year, an’ there will be those who will not see 2026, but the good part is that the Lord is with us in life and in death, and all the junk in between.
Plan then on bein’ here next Saturday. The Lord willin’ an’ the creeks don’t rise I’ll have the coffee on. In fact, even if’n the creeks rise an’ don’t wash us away I’ll have the coffee on. Thing is Pard, will yuh be here to join with me? Plan to be here, an’ that means checkin’ yur cinch, but leave it in the Lord’s hands.
Vaya con Dios.