When I Must Leave You

By Helen Steiner Rice

When I must leave you for a little while-

Please do not grieve and shed wild tears

And hug your sorrow to you through the years.

But start out bravely with a gallant smile;

And for my sake and in my name

Live on and do all things the same.

Feed not your loneliness on empty days,

But fill each waking hour in useful ways,

Reach out your hand in comfort and in cheer

And I in turn will comfort you and hold you near;

And never, never be afraid to die

For I am waiting for you in the sky!

Come To Me

God saw you getting tired

And a cure was not to be,

So he put his arms 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.

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am, a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush,

Of quiet birds, in circled flight.

I am the soft star that shines at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there; I did not die.

 After Glow

I'd like the memory of me,

To be a happy one,

I'd like to leave an afterglow

Of smiles when life is done.

I'd like to leave an echo

Whispering softly down the ways,

Of happy times and laughing times

& bright and sunny days.

I'd like the tears of those who grieve,

To dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

When life is done.

Her Journey

Don’t think of her as gone away,

Her journey’s just begun.

Life holds so many facets,

This earth is only one.

Just think of her as resting

From the sorrow and the tears,

In a place of warmth and comfort,

Where there are no days and years.

Think how she must be wishing

That we could know today,

How nothing but our sadness

Can really pass away.

And think of her as living

In the hearts of those she touched,

For nothing loved is ever lost,

And she was loved so much.

God’s Garden

God looked around His garden

And found an empty place.

He then looked down upon the earth

And saw your tired face.

He put his arms around you

And lifted you to rest.

God’s garden must be beautiful

He always takes the best.

He saw the road was getting rough

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids

And whispered "Peace be thine".

It broke our hearts to lose you

But you didn’t go alone,

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

John 14

Let not your heart be troubled:

ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions:

if it were not so, I would have told you. I

 go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again, and receive you unto myself;

 that where I am, there ye may be also.