You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
    among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealousy sky
    when we walked in fields of gold.

    The haunting voice of Eva Cassidy begins her Songbird album with a captivating rendition of “Fields of Gold.” Her voice is hauntingly strong and rich, beckoning us to hear something more than just her song. Eva’s untimely death from cancer grips the music and the moment with poignancy. Though her body is dead, her voice, her soul, her music, speak an even greater truth. Her legacy and her gift linger, though her sun has set.

Many years have passed since those summer days
    among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
    as you lie in fields of gold.
You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
    among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealousy sky
    when we walked in fields of gold.

Their sun has long set, but I still walk with them in “fields of gold”...

    Thanksgiving is still bittersweet. Though “the years have passed,” faint and distant echoes make the memory of difficult Thanksgivings linger. A cluster of losses centering around deaths of my mother’s parents and the illness of my father still hang in the air with the aroma of baking turkey and the anticipation of pumpkin pie. These precious people are gone, yet after more than two decades of empty Thanksgivings, their legacies and their gifts linger. Their sun has long set, but I still walk with them in “fields of gold” through the gift of entrenched childhood memories and the fading pictures in photo albums.

    Life is a gift. Fragile and fragrant, it has its moment to bloom. Sooner than we expect, its blossom withers and its petals fall. All that’s left is the memory of its scent and the seeds it leaves behind for another’s future.

    So as you clean up your emotional Thanksgiving closet, don’t forget that the moments to “walk in fields of gold” with those you love dwindle with each passing year. Seize your moment to build memories before your “sun goes down.” Intentionally build a legacy of faith, so that “when the west wind moves” they will remember, and be stirred to follow your example of faith. Let your legacy be worthy of the words...

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7) Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

    ...so that together, you can walk the streets of gold.

Title: "A Voice That Lingers On"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: November 26, 2001

Share with Others	Related Heartlight Resources
Print this Article Send it to a Friend Discuss	Upside Down Blessings