"Ralph"
We got some details on the net –
His accident – the storm, and yet
It seems quite strange now he is gone,
A life which helped my work along.It was the center point of life
For me in ministry – not tight
But easy-going with intent
To move in Christ where e’er he went.I learned so much from him – his way
Of doing rural life each day;
Not that I copied him, but took
So much from him, like love of books –He used to guide his ministry;
His care for folks; the way he’d be
Right in the face of teenage youth,
And press them to engage the truth.Rough-hewn he was, of country stock;
At auctions he with friends would talk;
Perused obits for folks to aid,
And share connections he had made.He had a “unit” tool for time,
Which he would use – the base for mine;
His ways were rough and ready, true,
But heart of gold – the Ralph we knew.So Lord, as he moves on from here,
His manner, ways, and views quite clear,
Abide in us as parting ways
Attend us now through grieving days.I see him in my faith-full eye,
Up there with You, now he has died,
But also with my mom and dad,
And Jean and other friends he had.I see a great reunion now
Of those with coffee, noting how
They’d done their parts in earthly scene,
To make life richer where they’d been.Thanks Lord for Ralph and all he meant;
Thanks Lord for how through life he went;
Thanks for his family, our friends;
Thanks, though this part of life now ends.Thanks Lord for this.
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