“E’er to take, as from a father’s hand, one by one, the days, the moments fleeting.”

Hymn: "Day by Day and with Each Passing Moment" - Caroline V. Sandell-Berg (1832-1903)
Tune: BLOTT EN DAG

Archaic word alert: “E’er” is simply a contraction of “ever.” In this case, you can mentally substitute “always” or “consistently.” [I make no apology for poetic language, by the way!]

Earlier this morning I was sitting on our back porch - rocking, drinking coffee, reading a little Mary Doria Russell, taking in the fresh, small-town breeze – just waiting for the temperature to overcome me and send me back inside to the conditioned air. As I often do when I rock and think, I became overwhelmingly grateful for the moment-filled days that have one-by-one rushed past me in these sixty-five years. I am not simply appreciative to some cosmic force or sequence of lucky breaks. I am thankful to the loving father-like God through whose fingers each moment has been sifted.

When I rock and think, I usually am reminding myself of those people who one by one God has handed to me along the way – some for very short periods… like a seminar, a retreat, a week at Ridgecrest/Glorieta… others for many years, even from my childhood. Were it not for all those faces which scroll across my memory-screen, the days would not have been nearly as happy or fulfilling. Instead of flying past, my eighteen waking-hour segments would have trudged by, leaving me no reason to sit and rock and be grateful.

                                   A contemporary singing of this hymn with hymnals in hand!