Don't Worry Son, It'll Be Alright

Therefore I tell you, do not worry....
Matthew 6:25



"The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”



Taylor, Hudson



Down our long, dusty gravel driveway I walked. The sun's beams were shining through the treetops. I was cool from the autumn breeze that rustled the leaves on the tree branches. Standing and waiting for the bus. My first day at a new school. I didn't want to go. My stomach was in knots. I set out for that long walk to the end of the driveway. With tears in my eyes and not knowing what to expect, I dug in against my mother about getting on the bus. Daddy took me by the hand, bent down, and lifted me up to talk to him. He reassured me with these words,"Don't worry son, it'll be alright." I believed him and off I went to school.
At a teenager, I wanted to do my own thing so I set my mind to it. Along that broken road I wanted to be wild and free. In the process, I said some hurtful things at times to my father. In my will to create my own independence and identity, I left carnage in my wake. In my quest, I got into jam after jam. Always escaping by the skin of my teeth. Jumping in before I thought anything through. And through it all, he stood. Knowing alot more of what was going on than I thought I was keeping secret. Always when I had to face the music, to be the better man he wanted me to be, he waited patiently for me to come around. Not wanting to talk about it, he waited on me. Patting me on the back, I sat there slumped over and lost in my thoughts. With the look of despair on my face,I felt noone understood me. And with these words he let me know someone cared, "Don't worry son, it'll be alright." Leaving his door open, he let me know he was available to talk. I may not have always liked his advice, but he always had a sympathtic ear to listen. Though in later years, I came to realize how right he was.
And so the years grew and I settled into a family. As my time with him became more limited, I longed for more moments with him. Obligations and commitments kept me busy, I squeezed every spare chance I had to discuss what life was throwing at me. Life finally threw me the ultimate curve ball. I held his hand as his life slipped away over the weeks in the hospital. Night slipped in and he was doing like he always did. Reassuring me with the same words I heard my whole life,"Don't worry son, it'll be alright:" " How can he be so sure? How does he know?" these questions filled up my mind. All these years I heard these words, but never truly understood the message. With a simple jesture, he put those words into perspectice. Taking his hand, he simply pointed up.

Even after his passing, his words stayed in the back of my mind. Until the moment I was standing in a delivery room, I was amazed at the cries of newborn life. The doctor took my son, and placed him in my hands.Tears welling up in my eyes, he looked up at me with his big blue eyes. Placing him on my shoulder I reassured him,"Don't worry son, it'll be alright."
by
Lance Gargus