Norwegian Farmer’s Son…August 30th

August 30th...”TELL OF AN INCIDENT WHEN ONE OF YOUR PARENTS WAS VERY ANGRY WITH YOU AND YOU NEEDED TO SPEAK THE TRUTH NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED.”

POEM – “No Taller Than Truth”  by N. Elliott Noorlun

No man can stand, Any taller than truth, My father and God taught me well.

And when it came, To confessing sin, I knew what I should tell.

In my young days, With the wayward ways, That a child will tend to go,

My father shared, As his soul he bared, That this is what I should know.

“Son, I HATE a liar!, You can never trust that man”,

“With “stories” galore, He’s like the seashore, With shifting, faltering sand”.

“If you speak the truth, I’ll always show, The benefit of the doubt,”

“But lie to me, And you will see, The thunder of my shout!!!!”

So there came a day, In my teenage way, That I was guilty of major sin.

It tore at my heart, From the very start, Oh where would I begin?

To tell the truth?, Or fabricate?, A story that I had made?

Was I to lie?, To try to get by?, From foundations of truth that were laid?

The “jig” was up, For this teen pup, When confronted by my dad,

He was seething with anger, Till he shook, By the doings of his lad.

From my Christian upbringings, I knew what was right, In the eyes of God and my father.

So I spoke the truth, In hopes I’d grow, Much closer to Dad, Not farther.

The moment was tense, As I bared my soul, E’en though his words were terse,

But Dad honored me, For choosing right, And from my father, There was no curse.

As my dad’s life, Drew to an end, From cancer raging within,

I was at peace, That truth had been, My choice in time of sin.

I held his frail body, In my arms, As I said, “I love you, Dad!”,

He said, “I love you, too, my son!”, That really made me glad!!

To know that I stood, As tall as truth, Though easy it was not,

As far as the east is, From the west, Those sins our God forgot!!