God Held My Hand

As a child my parents took me to church
You see for me they didn’t have to search.
And when at my grandparents' house we all went together.
In rain, snow, heat and all kinds of weather.

Growing up on a farm in rural Kentucky, work was all we knew
Of the outside world we had no clue.
So going to church was a treat just to have somewhere to go
I never much though about the reason and but it certainly wasn’t for show.

As I grew older and things became more and more clear
I became aware of God's presence and He became more dear.
I knew that my father and mother were always quick to give Him praise
And with a strict hand we kids they did raise.

About the time I turned seventeen, our pastor came around
He had been trying to catch me to help me be Heaven bound.
I resisted at first but he started to make more sense
For as he talked to me and presented God’s plan I had no defense.

To accept Jesus as my Savior was my only salvation
To reject His gift of eternal life would be condemnation
So accepting Him as my savior was the biggest step in my young life
But slipping away from His grace only brought me turmoil and strife.

A little later as I was about to go to Vietnam
My father told me only one thing, one piece of advice to bring me calm
“Son,” he said, on the night before I was to leave,
“When things are bad, remember all you have to do is pray to God and in Him believe.”

I shrugged it off, as I was too old to ask God for His guiding hand
Heck, I was nineteen years old and I was a man.
During my time in combat the first thing one might learn
Was the only hope any of us had was God and to Him we all would turn.

He held me in the palm of His hand for all those long, scary days
And brought me home again and to Him I owe all the praise.
Oh, I have fallen short at every turn
But God has forgiven me and from Him I did learn.

Faith, Love and Forgiveness He freely gives us
And all He asks in return is to love Him as He loves us.
As the Master loves us all; in our daily life He is there
So I now bow my head and thank Him with a simple prayer.

©David R. Alexander
November 13, 2002
All Rights Reserved