More

Death and pain are all around us aren't they?  The older I get, the more I'm confronted with the truth of life's brevity.

An acquaintance of mine from college just passed away.  She had been recently diagnosed with leukemia, undergone a bone marrow transplant and now she's gone.

I didn't know her much.  In fact I don't remember even having more than a surface conversation with her, if that.  But having been recently reconnected with her on Facebook and following her journey through illness, I kept imagining myself in her shoes.  And I'd click her picture on Facebook and ask God to grant her strength and grace for her trials.

She's got a family with two young girls.  She's my age.  I tear up thinking about the deep sorrow her family must be heavy with in the wake of her sudden departure.

But even in the midst of the mourning, there is much hope.  Hope because this life isn't it.  There is so much more waiting for us on the other side of life! I imagine Jesus welcoming Rachel into His arms and hugging her as she finally rests from her physical troubles. 

This song is ringing through my brain and heart as I remember Rachel's family.  I pray that the truth of God and the certainty that their mom and wife is in heaven will be a resounding comfort.

There is More

This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
And every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still
How nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky fall rain

There is more, more than all this pain
More than all the falling down and the getting up again
There is more, more than we can see
From our tiny vantage point in this vast eternity

There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer's eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you can not say why

There must be more

There is more, more than we can stand
Standing in the glory of a love that never ends
There is more, more than we can guess
More and more forever more and not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything and wilder than our wildest dreams could ever dream to be

There is more