This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.  ~ Psalm 34:6

Today’s verse that I love is Psalm 34:6, my dad’s life’s verse. I can still hear him quoting it. I knew that he loved this verse, but I didn’t realize that he thought of it as his life’s verse until my mother had it engraved on his tombstone.

I love this verse because out of all the verses in the Bible, my dad chose this one. He always regarded himself as a “poor man”. He didn’t think of himself as poor financially, though I know there were times of financial struggle, but rather, he viewed himself as unworthy of God’s great love. (As are we all!) He never thought of himself as smart, or handsome or talented – though he was all of those things. My dad was just an average man, the son of a railroad foreman; nothing special to most people. Of course, he meant the world to his wife and children. He wasn’t a preacher, yet he preached every day. His audience wasn’t large, only one little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, who hung on his every word. He lived his ordinary life in an extraordinary way.

Dad was a very humble man, and his life’s verse fits his life perfectly. God saved him, even though Ron Courtney was so unworthy.

My dad would have been shocked to see the huge crowd at his funeral. He would have also been stunned to read the lovely poem by Bro. Jim Payte. I’ve shared it before, but I’d like to share it once more.  I offer heartfelt thanks to Bro. Jim for giving this wonderful gift to our family. I could never fully express how much it meant to us during our darkest hour.

In Memory of Ron Courtney

His wavy white hair
His finely honed wit,
The strength of his handshake
His encouragement to never quit.

The height of his stature
Is just but a mite,
Compared to his example
Of a man who lived right.

And, oh, to hear him pray,
That’s what I loved most.
He seemed as though he were best friends
With the Lord of hosts.

No thee’s and thou’s
No strain of thought,
Plain spoken words,
Not rehearsed or taught.

His head tilted back
As he uttered his prayer
I peeked I suppose,
It seemed the Lord was standing there.

The words that he spoke
Still ring in my ear
I want to pray like that
And feel the Lord so near.

Into God’s presence
Now he’ll abide.
For today he went home
Leaving his children and sweet wife by their side,

But don’t worry, don’t mourn, fret or despair.
Ron Courtney left a heritage…
He was a man of prayer

Now you can see him in Heaven,
As he talks with the Lord.
I picture it quite the same
As it was here before.

His head tilted back
Now Glory in his eye,
Face to face, praying and waiting,
For you and me to arrive. – Jim Payte

I look forward to that great reunion day.

With love,