| A TRIBUTE
This is a time to cherish.
It’s a time to come together
in tribute and thanksgiving.
A time to hear all the tender
charming stories.
A time to revel in a thousand
beautiful moments.
A time to capture once more
the vision of that smile.
A time to embrace the best
of your beloved.
And to memorialize for all time,
the gifts of one precious life.
BON VOYAGE
There’s a ship sailing on to a harbor,
To a haven of comfort and rest;
It’s a ship of God’s fashion and making
And its voyage by Him will be blest.
It departed with silence and beauty,
With the Master, Himself, in command;
As with dignity truly majestic
It sailed out of sight of all land.
There will always be clear skies above it;
There will always be calmness below,
There will never be storms to harass it.
For the Master is on it, you know,
And His wisdom will carry it safely
To the port of His infinite peace,
Where the light of His love will protect it
With a blessing that never will cease.
You have watched it sail onward and outward,
With a tear of regret in your eye,
For a loved one was sailing upon it,
And there’s grief when you’re saying goodbye.
But your tears would be tears of rejoicing,
And your heart would be happy and free,
If you could look for only a moment
On that ship that is sailing to sea.
For the one you have loved is at leisure,
With no worry or trouble or care;
There’s contentment beyond understanding,
In the way God’s passengers fare.
And you’d know from your own observation
That the sailing was joyful, not grim,
For it means a new life and new living,
And a sweet, closer contact with Him.
Oh, the solace there is in the knowledge,
Life is life and it always will be,
And it’s simply a change of direction
When we sail on His ship out to sea.
And the tears that we shed for our loved ones
Are in truth shed for us left behind,
For it hurts to give up to the Master,
Tho’ we know He is gentle and kind.
So believe in His great and good wisdom,
Trust in Him, as you patiently wait,
On His ship God is ever the pilot,
And the one you have loved is the mate.
’TIS THE GIFT TO BE SIMPLE
’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
’Tis the gift to come down where ought to be,
and when we find ourselves in the place just right,
’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be out delight
Till by turning, turning we come round right. |
I’M FREE
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard Him call
I turned my back and left it all.
To laugh, to love, to work or play,
Task left undone must stay that way.
I found that place at the close of day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savored much.
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me
God wanted me now, He set me free.
HE ONLY TAKES THE BEST
God saw you were getting tired
and a cure was not to be;
So he put His arm around you
and whispered, “Come to Me.”
With tearful eyes we watched you,
and saw you pass away.
Although we loved you dearly,
we could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating
hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life,
there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said that once I decided to follow You,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times
in my life there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You most,
You would leave me.”
The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you saw only one set of footprints in the sand,
it was then that I carried you.”
THE SERENITY PRAYER
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
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