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In the End

In the end, there’s only you and me,
For all the love that flowed endlessly
Among my closest friends and family,
Standing on the sands of a timeless sea.

Gifts and gladness filled my days and years,
You gave me strength to overcome my fears,
You taught me through the trials and bitter tears,
With faith that lasts until the darkness clears.

Final words are hard to choose and say,
Knowing there’ll not be another day,
With awe I take the very last step this way,
To live a life beyond this mortal clay.

What yet can be, for all man lost and cried,
A place to rest, where peace and joy abide;
You’ve walked with me, always by my side,
Go with me now to cross the great divide.

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Righteousness Will Reign Supreme

Confused the mind when fixed upon earth,
And earthly things turn eyes from heaven.
I’d see, O Lord, your saints abide
In eternal homes, where titles are dead,
And Mammon has lost its mad control,
Where love is pure, and labor is sweet.

What joys must circle our jealous Lord!
What peace surrounds your powerful Head!
Your kingdom at last will come to all,
That day that evil’s cast down to hell,
And righteousness will reign supreme,
The sea no more, in justice’ calm.

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O holy Hope

O holy Hope, what else have I
On earth beside this white-hot wait?
This fired desire, with sights set high,
No worldly lure can e’er abate.

In prayer the lips move fevered pleas,
“Lord, come!” We’ll meet you in the air;
I love you more than all of these,
Let angels line the heavenly stair.

Th’ eternal span gives time below
A worth beyond the final fire;
And man, who stumbles to and fro,
To life with God may dare aspire.

—JRMatheny

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The future, weary or fair

I know not on the morrow
What earthly joy or sorrow
May fall to me to bear,
The future, weary or fair.

As long as breath may tarry,
Whatever weight I carry,
No burden can compare
To heaven’s golden square.

 

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Here for a reason

We’re here for a reason, Lord, you’ve shown us that time and again, in so many different ways. You placed us on this earth for your fellowship, for our mutual joy, for the blessing we can bring to others by restoring them to your presence.

We’re here as the process through which we find our way—having been found by you—into the eternal halls of peace and praise.

Help me to embrace that reason, to place my feet further on that glorious path, to move toward that heavenly abode.

Let me always be clear, with your reasons.

And though the path between here and there may be covered in mist, let the end points ever stand out sharply, so that my reason for being here will carry me through and get me there.