"Then the man of God was angry with him." (v. 19)

Prayer: O Lord, support us all the day long of this troubled life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes and the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, Lord, in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our Lord.3

Old Robert was getting more frail the summer before he died. With his emphysema, he would be puffing and fighting for breath from exertion, simply walking from the front of the house to the back. He still loved his garden, although it was nowhere near as large as it had been when he had been able to tend it properly.

One day I saw him out there, in the garden, sitting on an old wooden kitchen chair with a hoe in his hand. He…