We just returned from a hurried trip to the funeral in Norris, TN. We flew on Friday night to Nashville and then rented a car for the 3 hour drive to Norris. It ended up being a wonderful time to grieve and remember -- together as a family. During the service itself, we heard a number of striking poems, interwoven with Scripture, and I found that the poetry did much to soothe the pain of loss and bring my perspective on death closer to God's perspective. Here's a favorite of the poems we heard:
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there.
I do not sleep.I am a thousands winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn 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 stars that shine at night.Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.Mary Elizabeth Frye - 1932
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