A SONG OF THE LIVING
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have sent up my gladness on wings,
to be lost in the blue of the sky.
I have run and leaped with the rain,
I have taken the wind to my breast.
My cheek like a drowsy child
to the face of the earth I have pressed.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have kissed young Love on the lips,
I have heard his song to the end.
I have struck my hand like a
seal in the loyal hand of a friend.
I have known the peace of heaven,
the comfort of work done well.
I have longed for death in the darkness
and risen alive out of hell.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I gave a share of my soul to the
world where my course is run.
I know that another shall finish
the task I must leave undone.
I know that no flower,
no flint was in vain on the path I trod.
As one looks on a face through a window,
through life I have looked on God.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
– Amelia Josephine Burr
–
LIFE
Life is just a stepping-stone
A pause before we make it home
A simple place to rest and be,
Until we reach eternity.
Everyone has a life journey,
A path to take with lots to see
God guides our steps along the way,
But we were never meant to stay.
Our final destination is a place
Filled with love, His majesty and grace
Today we celebrate the life of a loved one
Who has gone before us, the race he has won.
His journey has now ended,
His spirit has ascended
Claiming the great reward
With Jesus, our Lord.
– Prayers for Special Help
–
A CHILD’S FUNERAL POEM
He passed away so innocent and true
So brief was his time, we hardly knew.
A baby so sweet with a precious smile
The time we had with him was so worthwhile.
An early arrival in Heaven that day
Met by the angels in all their array
A comforting thought as they welcomed him there
So much to see and so much to share.
– Prayers for Special Help
–
ANOTHER LEAF HAS FALLEN
Another leaf has fallen, another soul has gone.
But still we have God’s promises,
in every robin’s song.
For he is in His heaven,
and though He takes away,
He always leaves to mortals,
the bright sun’s kindly ray.
He leaves the fragrant blossoms,
and lovely forest, green.
And gives us new found comfort,
when we on Him will lean.
– Author Unknown
–
I THOUGHT OF YOU WITH LOVE TODAY
I thought of you with love today,
but that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday,
and days before that too.
I think of you in silence,
I often speak your name.
All I have are memories
and a picture in a frame.
Your memory is a keepsake,
with which I’ll never part.
God has you in His keeping,
I have you in my heart.
– Author Unknown
–
GOD SAW YOU GETTING TIRED
God saw you getting tired
When a cure was not to be.
So He wrapped His arms around you,
And whispered, “Come unto me”.
You didn’t deserve what you went through,
And so He gave you rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best.
So when I saw you sleeping,
So peaceful and free from pain.
I could not wish you to come back,
to suffer that all again.
– Author Unknown
–
A SILENT TEAR
Just close your eyes and you will see
All the memories that you have of me
Just sit and relax and you will find
I’m really still there inside your mind
Don’t cry for me now I’m gone
For I am in the land of song
There is no pain, there is no fear
So dry away that silent tear
Don’t think of me in the dark and cold
For here I am, no longer old
I’m in that place that’s filled with love
Known to you all, as “up above”
– Author Unknown
–
SO GO AND RUN FREE
So go and run free with the angels
Dance around the golden clouds
For the Lord has chosen you to be with him
And we should feel nothing but proud
Although he has taken you from us
And our pain a lifetime will last
Your memory will never escape us
But make us glad for the time we did have
Your face will always be hidden
Deep inside our hearts
Each precious moment you gave us
Shall never, ever depart
So go and run free with the angels
As they sing so tenderly
And please be sure to tell them
To take good care of you for me
– Author Unknown
–
IF TEARS COULD BUILD A STAIRWAY
If tears could build a stairway
and thoughts a memory lane
I’d walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again
No farewell words were spoken
No time to say good-bye
You were gone before I knew it
And only God knows why
My heart’s still active in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one can ever know.
But now I know you want us
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store
Since you’ll never be forgotten
I pledge to you today
A hallowed place within my heart
Is where you’ll always stay
God knows why, with chilling touch
Death gathers those we love so much
And what now seems so strange and dim
Will all be clear, when we meet Him
I Knew you for a Moment
– Author Unknown
–
THE BROKEN CHAIN
We little knew that day,
God was going to call your name.
In life we loved you dearly,
In death, we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you.
You did not go alone.
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.
You left us beautiful memories,
Your love is still our guide.
And although we cannot see you,
You are always at our side.
Our family chain is broken,
And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.
– Ron Tranmer
–
WE LIVE BY FAITH ALONE
We live by faith alone,
walking softly in the great unknown,
accepting that which cannot be postponed,
believing that what is yet to be seen
is the substance of our waking dream.
– Rev. Glenn Chaffin
–
ABIDE WITH ME
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee;
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? where grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Keep Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee.
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
– Henry Francis Lyte
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HOW GREAT THOU ART
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works thy hands have made
I see the stars
I hear the mighty thunder; Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,”How great Thou art, how great Thou art!”Then sings my soul my Saviour God, to
Thee,”How great Thou art, how great Thou art!” When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim,”My God, how great Thou art!”
– Carl Boberg
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THE ROSE BEYOND THE WALL
Near a shady wall a rose once grew,
Budded and blossomed in God’s free light,
Watered and fed by the morning dew,
Shedding it’s sweetness day and night.
As it grew and blossomed fair and tall,
Slowly rising to loftier height,
It came to a crevice in the wall
Through which there shone a beam of light.
Onward it crept with added strength
With never a thought of fear or pride,
It followed the light through the crevice’s length
And unfolded itself on the other side.
The light, the dew, the broadening view
Were found the same as they were before,
And it lost itself in beauties new,
Breathing it’s fragrance more and more.
Shall claim of death cause us to grieve
And make our courage faint and fall?
Nay! Let us faith and hope receive–
The rose still grows beyond the wall,
Scattering fragrance far and wide
Just as it did in days of yore,
Just as it did on the other side,
Just as it will forever-more.
– A. L. Frink