My Pawpaw took the big, thick, tan book off the shelf. My five-year-old-self sidled up next to him on the sofa, pulling my knees up to my chin. I knew what was coming. The years had frayed the corners of its cover and the pages had yellowed more with every reading. It was filled with stories and poems, but Pawpaw’s favorite, The Raggedy Man by James Whitcomb Riley allowed him to use a dialect his years as teacher and principal had forced him to abandon long ago.
Here’s just a taste of his favorite parts:
O the Raggedy Man! He works fer Pa;
An’ he’s the goodest man ever you saw!
He comes to our house every day,
An’ waters the horses, an’ feeds ’em hay;
An’ he opens the shed—an’ we all ist laugh
When he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf;
An’ nen—ef our hired girl says he can—
He milks the cow fer ‘Lizabuth Ann.—
Ain’t he a’ awful good Raggedy Man?
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
An’ The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes,
An’ tells ’em, ef I be good, sometimes:
Knows ’bout Giunts, an’ Griffuns, an’ Elves,
An’ the Squidgicum-Squees ‘at swallers the’rselves:
An’, wite by the pump in our pasture-lot,
He showed me the hole ‘at the Wunks is got,
‘At lives ‘way deep in the ground, an’ can
Turn into me, er ‘Lizabuth Ann!
Er Ma, er Pa, er The Raggedy Man!
Ain’t he a funny old Raggedy Man?
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
He got tickled every time he read the “Squidgicum-Squees ‘at swallers the’rselves” part and we’d both laugh. Then after every stanza, my job was to say, “Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!”
It was great listening to him read, but he didn’t just read poems and stories. He’d read the Bible too. He’d talk about God until he made sure all his grandkids understood how much God loved us.
Another favorite memory conjures up a wooden bench outside our little beachside motel room – just him and me. He sat with a faraway look in his eyes as the moon glistened off the water with the rhythmic sound of the waves in the background. He quietly asked, “Can you believe that the God who made all this, loves us? How great is a God like that?” His life proved he loved God in return, but it sure helped to hear him say it. I believe God liked to hear him say it too.
There are many people who need to hear us say, “Just listen to what God’s done for me!” It’s one thing to live a godly life, but we need to tell our stories. David did it after being rescued by God. He said in Psalm 40, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” The adulterous Samaritan woman at the well did it after she met Jesus. John tells us, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”
If God has filled your life with stanza after stanza of redeeming love, tell somebody. Write your story on the hearts of your children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors. After all, Jesus became a raggedy man so we could all have a magnificent story to tell. Ain’t he a’ awful good Raggedy Man? Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man!
Donna Jackson
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#donnajacksonblogs
