Tante Marianne's Life, The Universe and Everything

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

As thy days shall demand, so thy succor shall be

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you

He hath said,You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;

In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;

At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,

As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;

I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all

My people shall prove

My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Today is my father's 82nd birthday. He got to have cake yesterday and he's celebrating today as well. Even so, I doubt it registers with him. He'll enjoy it for the 2 seconds his brain is able to process it, then forget it again. In July when I last saw him, I wasn't sure he'd make it to his birthday, but here it's October 14th and, by golly, he made it!

So, here's to the last weeks/months of a good person's life. Happy Birthday, Daddy, you are a good man and a kind father. May your last bit of time here on earth be as happy and pleasant as possible. Enjoy that angel food cake and the root beer! And God Bless you!