Reflecting on My Father’s Life-
A Life Well Spent-
By Gladys Simmons Carson-
A life well-spent, at the setting sun,
Brings a rich reward for a job well done.
The many years of meager means,
The ups, the downs, the in between.
Successes, failures, the bad, the good,
And all the storms of life withstood.
A life to match the one you preached,
An inward look, an outward reach,
Toward children eager-eyed to learn,
And sinners back to Christ to turn.
The trembling hands of those in years,
The youthful lad with dreadful fears.
Young men of Christ who guidance sought,
The falsely judged for whom you fought.
That which you gave someone to feed,
Such sacrifice to meet a need.
Your word that could be counted on,
When with support or when alone.
The simple things no one observed,
The countless ways in which you served.
An unsung hero by definition,
Who never thought of recognition.
Just satisfied to lend a hand,
To help uplift your fellowman.
Some may recall your humble style,
Your faithful ways, your winning smile.
You lifted some when they would fall,
Yet they may not recall at all.
But I remember from my youth,
You always stood up for the truth.
You always kept God in first place,
Through those hard times we had to face.
You always spoke in softest tones,
When times arose to right a wrong.
When pay was short and bills were long,
You taught us to keep holding on.
You taught us words that proved so right,
To walk by faith and not by sight,
To do our best without excuse,
And all God-given gifts to use.
To work in patience, not in haste,
And never valuable time to waste.
You taught at home and Sunday school,
And tried to live the Golden Rule.
Yes, I remember, and I’m glad,
I had in you a Christian Dad.
But most of all, He won’t forget,
He Who has never failed us yet.
He Who did give to you the call,
“Deny yourself and give your all.”
He Who was with you day and night,
In times of wrong, in times of right,
In times of plenty and of less,
He gave you well-deserved rest.
He Who gave us His only Son,
In glory gave you your last ”well done.”
And the love you shared wherever you went,
Shall bear witness on earth to a life well spent.
It was a day of celebration. At last I had completed the final step, of the last leg, of an amazing journey—one that brought me from an idea in my mind to a book in my hand. Writing my memoir, Triumph! A Battle Plan for Joy, proved to be the most challenging voluntary project of my life. But I need to 
