TOO MANY GOODBYES
why do we love to only lose
why do we hold dear a parent
or a brother or a sister
when we will have to say goodbye
way before our hearts are ready
why do we hold a lover
and give our very souls to another
only to lose them
why do we stand helplessly by
as a child is taken
or a husband or a friend
why does death rob us of the
love and comfort of those we hold dear
and force upon us
too many goodbyes in a life
that is lived too short
each one takes a piece of our
heart until we feel shredded
and ragged and raw with
nothing left to exist with
each goodbye is final while we
remain here in this life and yet when we reminisce
about our losses
when we remember a smile
a voice
a smell or a caress
a pair of arms that comforted us
another heart that quickened
at the sight of us
we are warmed and coddled
and held safe
and oh how we hope that
we will find them again
they will be waiting in the brightness of the beyond
when we say our final goodbye
here on earth we will also be
joyfully saying hello to all of those
we thought lost forever with
too many goodbyes
or a brother or a sister
when we will have to say goodbye
way before our hearts are ready
why do we hold a lover
and give our very souls to another
only to lose them
why do we stand helplessly by
as a child is taken
or a husband or a friend
why does death rob us of the
love and comfort of those we hold dear
and force upon us
too many goodbyes in a life
that is lived too short
each one takes a piece of our
heart until we feel shredded
and ragged and raw with
nothing left to exist with
each goodbye is final while we
remain here in this life and yet when we reminisce
about our losses
when we remember a smile
a voice
a smell or a caress
a pair of arms that comforted us
another heart that quickened
at the sight of us
we are warmed and coddled
and held safe
and oh how we hope that
we will find them again
they will be waiting in the brightness of the beyond
when we say our final goodbye
here on earth we will also be
joyfully saying hello to all of those
we thought lost forever with
too many goodbyes
BY JOANNE ELLIS
Angels
In this world are many angels
And we sometimes call them friends.
They encircle us with kindness;
Their love and caring never ends.
They are there when we are needy,
And they're there in glad times, too.
Without these loving angels
Life would be harder to get through.
God has sent them down among us
And we meet them everyday.
If we knew that they were angels,
Would we know just what to say?
We should surely thank our Father
For this, His special, loving touch
For without our friends, our angels,
Life would not mean as much.
He has said we should in all ways
Love and care for one another,
And that even total strangers
Should be looked on as a brother.
We have friends to help and love us
But are we always good friends, too?
We must strive to be like angels
In everything we say and do.
© 2006 Judy Haworth
"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:1, 2
Free!
Do not mourn 'cause I'm not there.
Don't fall into deep despair.
My precious Lord has come for me.
He led me home and set me free!
He freed me from the ills and pain
That I shall never feel again.
My body's whole - His gift to me.
Praise God, He came and set me free!
Someday soon we'll meet anew,
We'll be together, me and you.
I'll wait and worship at His knee
Until the day you, too, are free.
Do not mourn 'cause I'm not there.
Don't fall into deep despair.
My precious Lord has come for me.
He led me home and set me free!
©2009 Judy Haworth
