Whens, Wheres, and Whys

 

I went along for a ride to a junkyard the other day.

Along for a ride to a junkyard, I was bored, what can I say?

There were parts to be picked up I was told.

Was it a carburetor, alternator, or radiator waiting to be sold?

Can't remember, some type of ator for sure I recall.

As long as it wasn't an alligator, I was in for the long haul.
We rode past horses, cows, and silos.

Big curves, shaky bridges, ups, downs, highs, and lows.

 

 

We finally came to the turn of the chosen destination.

By now what this place would be like had stirred my imagination.

There was a looooong bumpy gravel road lined with trees and bushes.

There was a fence surrounding a school bus and a drink box that once held Orange Crushes.

Amidst this mess of rusty clutter,

Was a fine horse with a coat almost the color of butter.

We passed another curve, twenty more bumps, and shakes,

Then my husband announced, "We're here; this is the place."

I was asked did I want to get out, or sit in the car.

I said, "I think I will just sit and rest, we have come so far.

 

I began to look around and behold all my eyes did see.

There was junk for sale and some for free.

There was junk of every shape and size to behold.

There was junk for the meek, and junk for the bold.

Any junk ever wanted was there I believed.

Even if you didn't need it; it was here I perceived.

I was sitting by a pile of things that most likely clinked or clunked.

There was a part of a car hood and part of a trunk.

There was a huge tire bearing the words, 'all-season radial tire.'

Its season now clearly forgotten, as it rested in the mud and mire.

Beside this pile of a little of everything under the sun,

Something caught my attention and it began to run.

 

Yes, there was a fresh breath of life among all the useless trash.

A little brown pup appeared behind a flywheel in a flash.

He jumped and leaped high in the air.

He certainly didn't seem to have a single care.

There was a bigger, older dog lying beneath a shade tree.

The little pup jumped across and said, "Come play with me."

The old dog said, "No, I'm taking a nap, I don't want to play.

Why are you so happy on just another boring day?"

The little dog gave one more spin around the old dog's head.

And giving up finally said, "Alright, it's your choice, stay in bed."

He stuck his little black nose up and sniffed around.

He noticed someone new was there from town.

 

He came over as if to see who had entered his domain.

I leaned out the window and asked, "What is your name?"

He looked at me with big, kind, brown eyes.

He looked as if he was gentle and wise.

He reminded me of the dog of Taco Bell fame.

But this dog, not so famous, probably didn't even have a name.

He stood and put his front paws up on the car door.

I gave him a chip, and he asked for some more.

I told him I had dogs in my world where I came from.

I told him I would bring them for a visit the next time I come.

We had a conversation about his life and mine.

I told him I supposed this was all part of God's design;

For him to live in his small little world,

Being content to jump, spin, and whirl.

The big dog, on the other hand, seemed to have a miserable life.

He seemed to be depressed full of bitterness and strife.

 

The little dog suddenly ran behind an old pick up without a bed.

The old dog moved a little and raised up his head.

On the place where the bed of the truck once sat,

A bird perched and began to sing about this and that.

The little pup and the old one too,

Listened to the bird sing about what they should do.

He sang a song about the world beyond the junk where he had flown.

He sang of all the beauty he had been shown.

He told them there was more to life than sitting amidst the junk.

He told them of a place where all cars still had tires and trunks.

 

The little dog just smiled and walked away.

He said, "Tomorrow will be a brighter day."

The old dog, on the other hand, said knew all too well,

Of life on the other side beyond the junk, beyond the veil.

He had lived there once a long time ago.

That place was the only place of happiness he would ever know.

A place of highways and stores and vets and malls,

A place where he once slept cozy inside painted walls.

The bird sang maybe another note or two,

Then flying away, told the pup, "You just don't have a clue,

Of all, you are missing in the great big world where I am free,

I might fly back this way one day, we'll see."

 

I watched the bird fly away and wiped tears from my eyes.

I began to think of whens, wheres, and whys.

Some are satisfied to be in the little world where they are at.

Others, never happy, complain about every little this and that.

They remember and long for the way things used to be.

They begrudge others' happiness and don't like others who are free.

 

Some of us have to put with a whole lot of junk,

But we can survive if we have the strength and the spunk,

To realize one day there is a place we will go and be truly free.

A place of great beauty, designed for you and me.

It's a choice we must each make while we are here.

To be full of sadness, or be full of cheer.

 

Jesus said He has gone to prepare for us a place,

A place that is waiting at the end of this long race,

A place full of everything we could ever imagine, hope, or dream,

A place where there is no clutter or junk to be seen.

A place where we will jump, spin, and whirl,

A place that is better than any place in this small world.