Land; buildings; possessions
Can eventually be replaced
But when death takes a loved-one away
It is final and can’t be retraced.
The only thing remaining
When all else has faded away
Is love that formed many memories
That will sustain; open up a new day.
So let us learn to love every day
Caring for each other
And by showing love we are showing God
In love actions to one another.
A country road
Trees
A deer darting out
A sharp braking
Black ice
Skidding
Flipping over
Disaster so close
Refocuses the mind
On the fragility of life
The proximity of death.
The one thing we know
One hundred percent sure
Is that sometime we’ll die
Must pass through death’s door.
The big question we must ask
When the moment arrives
Are we happy or disappointed
With what we’ve done with our lives.
If death’s door opens fast
When we least expect
Then suddenly we’ve no time
In which to reflect.
To go into the unknown
Without a formed plan
Is considered rather foolish
Totally alien to man.
We all have only one chance to live
This life is not a rehearsal
We cannot come to the end of it
Expecting to have a reversal.
For some of us there may be
Weeks or months of preparation
To ponder where we are going
The possibility of salvation.
As the day of departure is not in our hands
It might be wise to stop and consider
If what God says in the Bible is true
Could I possibly live for ever.
Today, maybe, if I can find time
I will contemplate my death
I will not leave it till it’s too late
When I’m drawing my very last breath.
I really would like to live my life
With some knowledge of what’s to follow
So that I can make the best of it
Not live a life that is pointless and hollow.
When I come to the day of my death
I wonder will I get a surprise
Will all of the things I ever did
Rapidly pass before my eyes?
I have heard to have faith is sometimes called
‘Pie in the sky when you die’
Yet so many speak of a future life
Have they all been purporting a lie?
If death is the end of everything
Why do those who briefly die and come back
Tell of a glorious, very bright light
Never nothingness, where all is black?
I think I’m going to err on caution
Trust there is an eternity
Or else I might find out too late
When the ‘Grim Reaper’ comes for me.
Two Corinthians five seventeen
Contains the secret of new life for me
So I think I must start searching
To discover my destiny.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Did you weep Father God
When your only Son died?
I know Jesus cried
When his best friend died.
But today I was wondering whether
Tears and death for you
Also went together
As they did for me
When my loved one died.
And if my limited love
On this earth makes me cry
I think the God of Love’s eyes
Did not remain dry.
Yet God knew of course
Death was not the end
That on the third day
Christ would rise again.
His victory over death
Includes everyone and me
I can have certain hope
In this reality.
So the tears of sorrow
Become tears of joy
Knowing those who have died
Down through the years
I shall see again
In God’s home above
When reunited with Father
And all that I love.
I have only recently come to realise
Not only did I lose my husband when he died
But I lost the person I could follow
And who I am today is only a shadow
Of what I was as a wife.
My chest thickens
My eyes fill
My voice chokes on his name
Death is so final
Really horrible
What devastation it brings.
In truth I did not lose my husband
Lost persons can sometimes be found
I cannot find him
He died
Gone forever
I am the one who’s bereft
Lost without him.
Love is a fragile, strong strand
That passes through death’s doorway
And that love strand reaches me today
Supports me as I continue my way
Because he only took with him
What he had so freely given away
His love.
The sun filters through the leaves of the birches
Whilst over the hedge from the spire of the church
The bell rings out reminding us all
That time is passing and we are mortal
That one day for us too death’s horizon
Will come into view and we will be gone
To meet our Maker, we then also could be
In the walled garden of Paradise eternally.
Looking at autumn leaves I wonder why
They fall from the tree, wither and die
Yet where they fall upon the earth
By death they quietly create new birth
For their goodness is passed to the next generation
Thus completing the circle of God’s creation
I would like to think when my life here is done
Some goodness from me will still carry on.
When someone dies then they’re forever gone
So it’s then too late to ask if you did wrong
Too late also to ask them why
They left you behind without a goodbye.
So all through life whenever you part
Be honest and loving and speak from the heart
Then although from time to time there may be a tear
You will live in freedom because your conscience is clear.
Jesus holds two keys
The key of death
The key of hell.
With the key of death
He opens the door
To eternal life.
Holding the key of hell
In His powerful hand
He has closed the hell door
Forever
For all those who believe
Receive His gift of love.
Revelation 1:17-18
Lord, teach us to value our time down here
Not wasting a single day
For death can come unexpectedly
And whisk our life away.
