The Family Reunion
The setting was an old wood-framed church house.
Built by a tree on the crest of a gently sloping hill.
Its wood siding all faded and weather-worn.
The brass church bell for years had been still.
He walked up the hill to the church house.
With each step, old long-past years reappeared.
Soon in his mind, he could hear the congregation singing.
Then down his cheeks streamed the warm, wet tears.
Once again, the old song leader was his Grandpa.
His young Mama on a pump organ played.
Packed on the third pew were his mischievous boy cousins.
Standing by the back door to the music his dear Daddy swayed.
And old remembrances flooded his being.
A grand family reunion was well underway.
Hearing again the stories of King Jesus,
He couldn’t hold the tears at bay.
Then he moved from the little wooden church house.
Walked down the hill on the path just ahead.
The music and memories slowly fading in the distance.
He arrived at a cemetery with the graves of his family long dead.
There will be a great reunion in heaven in the future,
They’ll all be reunited one wonderful day.
They were all Believers in Jesus,
He’s the Light, the Truth, and the Way.
Jimmie Aaron Kepler
December 2015
The poem “Family Reunion” is in the forthcoming book, “Selected Poems: 1967 – 2021” by Jimmie Aaron Kepler and published by Poetry and Prayer Press.
Picture Credit: William Clarence Breeding, Sr. The church is in eastern Oklahoma near Ida Belle where my late father-in-law, William Clarence Breeding, Sr, and his family attended reunions.
