Two Stop Me Along the Road
Along that road sat a figure in a black cloak. He was laughing ardently as if he heard a grand joke. Another figure sat beside him reading an old book. He was the first to spot me with his piercing look.
I wanted to avoid these two; I knew they were partners in crime. The first was Death and his distant cousin, Father Time.
Father Time tapped Death on the shoulder and I knew I was caught. Running would be pointless, all was for naught.
Both motioned for me to come over and have a seat. Their eyes were vicious as a pack of wolves ready for meat.
“Good day to you, boy,” said Death to me, “May it be our good pleasure to bestow some wisdom upon thee. We are known by all men from the north to the south; our names fall easily from the tips of the mouth. We wait for men anxiously; we work as a team. We cut their lives short and ruin the dream.”
Father Time gave me a smile. I anticipated his words to be just as vile. Yet I was surprised by humility of his speech. I sat calmly was he began to teach.
“Thou art young now, but that won’t last. I have ways of making time go by very fast. You cannot avoid my sting, but you can make your life count if you do one thing: serve God above all, the best that life can bring.”
Death gave me a wink and nod, of which I considered to be quite odd. I asked if I could go my way, but they inclined that I should stay. Within their eyes waited deeper meanings to behold. I knew in a few moments that they would be told. For another hour each took a turn. They revealed the truth until in my mind it began to burn. Afterwards, Death told me to leave and Father Time did the same. For the loss of my day, it is to them I lay the blame. Yet I learned something that summer day. It bubbled in my heart as I went to the lake to play.
My life will not always be well; a hard fact that isn’t easy to tell. So, I took note of my life and I made a monumental choice: I confessed my sin and honored God with my voice. Maybe Father Time had it right-despite his cousin’s look that put my soul in such a fright. God is the way to live and in my life I want to give all that I can give.
So if you ever see Father Time and Death smiling at you, it’s best to get wise and quickly too! For both come when we think of them in the least-then they spring upon men’s lives as if it is a grand feast. Make your life count; don’t waste time. Here is the end of my dainty little rhyme.
