It reminded my parents of one of the churches ‘back home,’ that being Russell Springs, Kentucky. The little building in Leroy, Ohio had been a bar for years until a car mechanic from West Virginia who had a call to preach bought the place and renovated it into a church. I was five years old when I first walked into that church and for the next three years I spent Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evening, terrified.

         We had two revivals a year, one in the Spring, just before planting, and one in the Fall, just after harvest. Those revivals were two week long affairs. West Virginians and Kentuckians came from all over Northeast Ohio to those revivals. We always had the same evangelist from somewhere in West Virginia and, apparently, he was a super star down in those parts. The only reason we always had him was because he was Miss Tillie’s brother. Miss Tillie was the pastor’s wife.

         Our regular services were scary enough. A whole lot of screaming and jumping and people falling to their knees. I remember the pastor running down the aisle one night and grabbing my father by the arm and dragging him to the alter, very much against his will. I believe that was the last time my father ever went to that church. However, as scary as the regular services were to a very little kid, the revivals took the spooky level up several notches. The evangelist only had one arm, having lost the other in an accident. But with that one fist he would pound the pulpit until you thought it would shatter. He would run up and down the center aisle waving his Bible and calling God’s judgment down on all us miserable sinners. There was one little man who always showed up for those revivals. It was like he was a groupie of the preachers. When the preacher started running down the aisle, this little guy would jump up shouting and start throwing hymnals toward the ceiling. Once he got so happy, he ran to the back of the church. But instead of using the aisle, he jumped up on the back of a pew and ran to the back by leaping from one pew to the next. I remember my sisters, both older than me, crying during every service. I never knew if they were ‘in the Spirit’ or if they were just scared.

         The piano was a holdover from the days when the building was a bar. It didn’t matter what was played on it, it just sounded honky tonk. Miss Tillie played the piano and she could seriously beat that thing. Each service seemed to have ten songs at least. It probably wasn’t that many, but it was excessive. Miss Tillie played by ear and sometimes it took her a couple of verses nail it down. Then it got loud and fast. I was a teenager before I found out ‘Amazing Grace’ was not a racing song.

         But there was a song that Miss Tillie played and sang as a solo sometimes that always calmed my spirit. The only time I ever heard it was in that little church and it nestled away in one of the empty spaces in my mind, always a comforting though. Some of you may know it, but no one sings it anymore that I know of.

         Last Sunday it surfaced in my mind. I hadn’t thought of that song in years. I was sitting in my living room thinking about the young woman who had the stroke. How confusing it had to have been to be in a rehab place, unable to see anyone but nurses and therapists. Did she understand why no one was there? Was she able to reason that her kids and her husband love her? Did she know it was Mother’s Day but her kids were not there. I felt depression on my soul. Depression for her and for all the those people who have been affected by this virus in some way. And it was then that the Lord woke that song up in my mind.

The Last Mile of the Way

1.   When I walk in the pathway of duty,
When I work till the close of the day,
I shall see the great King in His beauty,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

Refrain:
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way,
I will rest at the close of the day;
And I know there are joys that await me,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

2.   Here for Christ I proclaim the glad story,
Here I seek for His sheep gone astray,
And I know He will show me His glory,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

Refrain:
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way,
I will rest at the close of the day;
And I know there are joys that await me,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

3.   Here the dearest of ties we must sever,
Tears of sorrow are seen every day;
But no sickness, no sighing forever,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

Refrain:
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way,
I will rest at the close of the day;
And I know there are joys that await me,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

4.   Here on earth I have earnestly striven,
And have sought all His will to obey,
’Twill enhance all the rapture of heaven,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

         

         Why did that song come to mind? I think it was to remind me that everything here is just passing by. Someday we will walk that last mile of the way. But until then, we have to walk the pathway of duty. We have to work until the close of the day. We have to proclaim the glad story and seek for the sheep that have gone away. Here on earth we lose the ones we love and tears flow like rivers. But we strive forward and follow His will.

        We face this virus, but it is not the end. The word of God tells us there will be things like this and there has been all through history. But it doesn’t change our purpose, our calling. While we are here we have a job to do. There is coming a day when we walk that last mile of the way, but for now we don’t let depression rule. We pray, we work and we give God the glory!

         Philippians 1:20-24--- as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.