C. Douglas Caffey

THROUGH THE SEASONS…
(A Letter to a Friend)

Faye,

I understand very well the meaning(s) of your penmanship, for I, too, have traveled down the same paths, picked the same berries, admired the same flowers, tripped on unseen stones, stung by yellow jackets, smelled the scents of a million wild flowers, viewed 28,470 sunrises and the same number of sunsets, marveled at the countless species of birds, endured many a thorn prick, especially of WWII, and stood in amazement of things my mind could not comprehend, yet I have walked with the Creator of His universe and have beheld His One and Only Son, The One, who alone, is full of grace and truth, and Who alone has paid the price of my redemption so that now I walk in peace and quietness in the Winter of my life. Though my walk be slow and my gait suspect, He has marked every time I fell and always kept me when broken ribs wanted to rob me of that peace which He alone can give. I have marveled at the ant, so tiny and always so busy, and often wondered what his little brain looked like, and how he knew which way to go. I have never seen a lazy ant, none are on welfare and together they did what was needed for the benefit of them all, and they do not have a Declaration of Independence nor a tablet of stone upon which instructions tell them how to get along with each other.

Yes, some days required lots of navigation upon the “Sea of Life”, especially so when the billows rolled high and “Death” rode the crest of that wave which looked as though my frail craft would surely succumb to his power, at which time I remembered the voice of God saying, “Greater is He who is within you than he who is in the world.” That same voice upheld me and said again, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This “camel ride” upon the Earth, with its cold nights and furnace-filled days, with its blowing sand and sultry sweat, with the ups and downs of the camel as he slowly made his way across the miles, ever aware of the lions of the desert, finally brings me to that place in time when the journey is almost finished, as when Abraham’s servant brought the proper wife for his son, covering some eight hundred miles of desert. Isaac beheld the caravan from some distance, praying that the damsel would measure up to his need, which she did. In much the same manner God’s Son awaits the believer at the journey’s end, when the camel ride will be over. He will lead us to His Father’s house and we shall see the mansion which bears our “New Name”; that eternal abiding place where there is no need of the sun for the SON is the light thereof and we shall see the River of Life with all manner of fruit-bearing trees. Heaven has no deserts, but lots of desserts from which all the calories have been removed. THEN, we shall no longer remember the “Winters” through which we are now passing! Blessed Day! Even so come Lord Jesus!

Respectfully,
Doug Caffey

©Copyright December 2, 2004 by C. Douglas Caffey

Author’s Note: A letter to Faye Sizemore whose beautiful War Related and Other writings are included on the IWVPA website