FROM THE BOTTLE TO THE BIBLE

FROM THE BOTTLE TO THE BIBLE


He said "If I was a bettin' man
I'd betcha fifty cents
That there's a bottle in that paper bag
Down there by that fence."

The Preacher kept on walkin'
Never lettin' on he'd heard
They walked a little further
Without another word.

The church stood proud and stately
The bell rang loud and clear
The Preacher took the pulpit
While his son prayed for a beer.

The road so far had been hell
But they'd both got through it
What they'd lost along the way
Everybody knew it.

They said "That boy's just like his daddy
What he's reaped, he'll sow!"
None of them could yet forget
As they watched the young man grow.

'Twas years ago the Preacher came
With wife and baby son
People thought it very strange:
A Preacher with a gun.

She made excuses all the time
Why she was not in church
It wasn't long before they knew
The truth behind the hurts.

Sunglasses couldn't hide her bruises
Smiles didn't hide her pain
"Enough's enough" she wrote in her note
Before she ran away in the rain.

The Preacher drank for two long years
While the youngster watched in shame
Then one day all the bottles stopped
Replaced by the Bible which took all the blame.

He cursed his God, he cursed his wife
And he swore not to drink anymore
Then he preached down from the pulpit
Like none had done before.

Years passed; they both grew up
The Bible was their best friend
But the lad was his father's son
And he'd inherited his every sin.

He said "That was a great sermon, Dad
I'll see you in awhile"
And as he started home alone
The boy began to smile!

There was the fence close to their house
And he hurried to open the bag
The bottle held a fifth of gin
He wished it was beer...a keg.

Then he saw his mother's Bible
Left in the rain & the wind
He threw that bottle towards Heaven
And it never came down again!

He felt his daddy touch his head
And they knelt together to pray
The boy had become a man
On this the seventh day.

He said "If I was a bettin' man
I'd bet you fifty cents
God placed Mom's Bible with the rum
Down there by that fence."

That night he dreamed of Bibles
And a little church by the sea
A baby boy of his own
God and his own family!