Wednesday, June 3, 2009

By and By...

One of the beautiful by-products of walking this way, this season, has been meeting people-- men and women-- who have stories just like mine. I had no idea how many people are walking around with these enormous holes blown in their hearts. And they look normal-- you know so many of them, whether you know it or not. People who have been touched with death in some way, and specifically, the death of a child.

One gentleman that I teach with stopped by my classroom on Friday to welcome me back (the kids had already gone-- it was post-planning) and let me know that he was thinking of and praying for us. Of course, it turned into church right there :). He shared with me that he and his wife have lost four children-- and they have four living. Wow. I cannot imagine. Anyway, he reminded me of an old hymn that has brought them comfort....

By and By, Charles Albert Tindley (1905)

We are tossed and driv'n on the restless sea of time;
Somber skies and howling tempests oft succeed a bright sunshine;
In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away,
We will understand it better by and by.

(chorus)
By and by, when the morning comes,
When the saints of God are gathered home,
We’ll tell the story how we've overcome,
For we’ll understand it better by and by.

We are often destitute of the things that life demands,
Want of food and want of shelter, thirsty hills and barren lands;
We are trusting in the Lord, and according to God’s Word,
We will understand it better by and by.

(chorus)

Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand
All the ways that God could lead us to that blessed promised land;
But He guides us with His eye, and we’ll follow till we die,
For we’ll understand it better by and by.

(chorus)

Temptations, hidden snares often take us unawares,
And our hearts are made to bleed for a thoughtless word or deed;
And we wonder why the test when we try to do our best,
But we’ll understand it better by and by.

(chorus)

Bless God, we'll understand it better by and by...

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