The Reckoning

I stood out in the yard one morning, breath foggin’ out the cold, Feelin’ older than my years, but far stronger than the man I ever was before…

My hands were scarred from battles, I once thought I’d never win, But the sunrise hit my shoulders, like a second chance to overcome my sins...

I thought about the man I lost, the father I was meant to be, And for the first time in forever, I felt the fight rise up in me…

I found a chance in that quiet, with the frost still clingin’ to the ground. A voice reached out and said proudly, “Stand up, my son… you are finally turnin’ it around.”

CHORUS

This is the reckoning — the moment that strength broke through, The moment I had stopped runnin’ from the darkness and started seeking out truth…

You can’t rewrite the damage or reclaim the years that you’ve lost, But you can rise up from the ashes and stop refusing to pay those cost…

This is the reckoning — the climb back into the light,

Where every step is painful, but every step is worth the fight.

VERSE 2

I faced the ones I’d broken, every heart I’d left behind,

I owned the hurt that I caused them — I didn’t rewind to tryin to re-write…

I just rebuilt what I had shattered, piece by piece and day by day, I show up sober, stay steady, and I mean the words I say…

My children now, look at me different, when they saw I didn’t run… they see a Dad who fights his demons, how he refuses to come undone. And they still continue to watch me, and pray for the change I fight to keep,

See their father standin’ solid, where a ghost used to sleep…

CHORUS 2

This is the reckoning — the stand‑your‑ground and stay, The promises that you live out, not the empty ones you say…

You can’t erase the memories, or the times you disappeared, But you can build a better man from all the things you fear…

BRIDGE

I hit my knees every evening, when the house falls fast asleep, I pray, thanking God for every moment he has showed up and saved me from the deep…

Said, “I ain’t askin’ for perfection — just the strength to stay this course, To be the father they will remember, not the man that I was before...”

And in that quiet moment, with the weight of all I have done, I felt a fire rise in my chest — like the war was finally been won… because the Lord walks beside me,

I have the favor of his Son..

FINAL CHORUS

This is the reckoning — the rise from ashes and the dust, The moment you stop breakin’ every heart, is when you build their trust…

I can’t undo the devil or the years he’s stole from me,

But I can fight for what’s still left — and be the man God called me to be…

This is the reckoning — the chapter where I stand,

I am still not perfect, forgiven maybe yet, but my children finally see their Dad.. they finally see a man.