ALBUM - You'll Paint a Sunset Someday

You'll Paint A Sunset Someday

Published by Dusty Records, BMI
Words: Michael O'Connor
Music: Sally Klein O'Connor

©Copyright 1998 Improbable People Ministries

He was just an old painter of houses
In his heart he was, oh, so much more
He dreamed of the galleries he’d someday fill
As he touched up the trim ’round a door

He was blessed with the heart of an artist
But cursed with a lumberjack’s hands
He spoke in a language with brushes and oils
The canvas could not understand

Now he had a way with a roller
And his pride in the workmanship spoke
To the township whose homes he had covered
Who saw life in simple, broad strokes

He held up his hands so expansive
And cried, "Lord, it just isn’t fair
Why can’t I set down a skyline
Why can’t I still-life a pear?"
That night God answered his prayer

You’ll paint a sunset someday
With colors that won’t fade away
Be still and listen
I’ll give you My vision
And you’ll paint a sunset someday

But he didn’t wait for God’s leading
Like an embryo skipping the womb
He went out and purchased supplies he would need
And for months locked himself in his room

He was tired of patience and wisdom
Like a child determined to play
And the story in both local papers
Said his heart overcame him one day
Not before he could hear someone say

You’ll paint a sunset someday
With colors that won’t fade away
Be still and listen
I’ll give you My vision
And you’ll paint a sunset someday

The service was quite well-attended
They came to say thanks and goodbye
When pressed for some personal stories
No one had much to supply

Then slowly a sad revelation
They felt deep conviction and cried
For the man who had brightened their lives so
Was never invited inside

I stood up and said I had known him
That I’d been his apprentice two years
And while we were sanding and prepping
He told me his dreams and his fears

I don’t understand his obsession
All I know is James had true heart
Didn’t matter that he lacked the talent
Didn’t bother him he wasn’t smart
With these words the Lord set him apart

You’ll paint a sunset someday
With colors that won’t fade away
Be still and listen
I’ll give you My vision
And you’ll paint a sunset someday

We all left the church and proceeded
To a hilltop with lucious green sod
We went there to honor an artist
We went there to be close to God

We focused our solemn attention
On the unfolding Polaroid skies
I saw hues which had never been blended
Dancing dreams on a canvas of cries

In that moment impossible beauty
Was the tender which purchased our hearts
In the receding skyline I swear I saw this:
Sunset by James Leonard Parks

He was just an old painter of houses
But he left me with more than a trade
I turned in my brush for a hammer and saw
Construction pays better these days
And I hear through the dawn’s early rays

You’ll build a kingdom someday
With souls that won’t fade away
Be still and listen
I’ll give you My vision
And you’ll build a kingdom someday

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