" I AM
JUST WHAT
I AM "
The little
shack was standing
'Mid a
woods in Alabam'
Except
for deer and rabbits
No one
lived there 'cept for
Sam.
Now Sam,
he was a hermit
And he
seldom left his home
E'er since
the Great Depression
Lived a
recluse life.....alone.
Then one
day, early August
Sam was
goin' 'bout his chores
When a
Preacher from the city
Came a
knockin' at his door.
Now in
his hands, a Bible
For to
witness for God's Son
But Sam,
he told that Preacher
"Of your
sermons, I want none."
"Friend, I
ask you kindly
Just before
I bid adieu.....
If I
can stay to visit
Ne'er again
I'll bother you ?"
Well Sam,
he wasn't happy
'Bout his
visitor that day
But for
some reason, oddly
Answered, "Reckon'
you can stay."
"I see
you have a Bible
So I'd
like to make it clear......
I hope
you're not intendin'
Into me,
to put the fear."
"I've never
been to Church
Sam said
with an angry look
Besides, I
cannot read
So just
forget about your 'Book'. "
The Preacher
wasn't speakin'
He was
listening now to Sam
"And further
more, you'd better know -
I am
just what I am."
"So if'n
you got notions
Now to
try to 'set me free'
I'd better
warn you 'head of time
God's never
cared for me."
" I've been
alone for many years
My wife,
she died you know....
I lost
my only daughter
And my
son left long ago."
" But I
don't need nobody
You can
see....so never mind
Your preachin'
and your prayin'
- Please don't
bother with my kind. "
Well the
Preacher wasn't speakin'
Still was
listening close to Sam:
"So let
me make it very clear
I am
just what I am."
"Don't try
to give me Preachin'
Let me
warn you from the start
And don't
be readin' verses,
For they'll
never touch my heart."
" So if
you got intentions
Aimed at
telling me 'bout HIM
I'd like
to make it very clear
That I
don't need no FRIEND. "
The Preacher
still was quiet
And his
heart, it hurt for
Sam
"So let
me tell you 'Preacher Man'
- I am
just what I am."
"Well friend,
I have a story
That you
just might want to hear
It has
to do with Jesus,
For you
see, He's very near."
"God sent
His Only Begotten Son,
And He
died for you and
me
He took
our place upon a cross
So we
could be set Free."
"They beat
Him and they bruised Him
Yet He
gladly died for all
So when
you think nobody cares
- That kind
of love - not small."
"When nails
were driven deeply
Into His
flesh that day
They mocked
Him and they cursed Him
Yes, that
love is great, I'd
say."
"So when
you feel you're lonely
Or that
living's hard to do,
Just think
about our Saviour -
What He
did for me and You."
"If I
could search the world,
I'd never
find a truer love
Than that
our Jesus gave us
'Fore He
joined Dear God above."
"Now when
you think to tell me
That "I
am just what I am"
Remember there
is Someone
Who has
always loved you Sam."
This time
Sam was silent
And he
stood without a sound
Was thinking
'bout the many years
He'd felt
life let him down.
He thought
nobody loved him
But so
wrong oh he had been
He felt
his heart was breaking
And he
felt his awful sin.
He looked
up at that Preacher
With the
tears now in his eyes
"I thought
nobody cared for me
But now
I realize."
Sam 'long
side that Preacher,
They both
knelt upon their knees
Then Sam,
he called on Jesus
And his
Saviour heard his
pleas.
He Invited
Christ into his heart
From then
on, with joy
he'd say......
"I am
just what I am !"
A brand new Sam that day.
Author/Poem Written By:
Tammy Boatman-Young And
Husband Rick Young
2002
