NO MORE TEARS!

NO MORE TEARS!

This is a most wonderful time of the year.  The autumn leaves are turning gold, red, and yellow on the trees as I look out my window.  The air is crisp now, but when the sun comes out it becomes a warm fall day.  I marvel at God’s creation and how He could create such marvelous colors all around as the seasons change.  We can enjoy the colors for a while and then winter will be here and all those lovely trees will be barren and then we will begin to look for spring time and new life again.

As I have entered the “autumn” years of my life, I remember the youthful days when I thought life would go on forever, and it never entered my mind that someday my senior years would come.  And I wonder where the years have gone!  It seems like only yesterday that our children were little and we were so young,  and even further back when I remember being a little girl and running and playing with the other children around.

My daughter and I were talking this past week about heaven.  It seems that when we were young we never thought much about it.  After all, we were young and heaven for us was many years down the road.  Now, in my senior years, heaven seems to be a part of my thinking.  As so many dear ones in my family, including our dear mother just a short time ago, have gone on to their eternal reward, heaven is very real.  As a Pastor, I have sat by bedsides of the dying and performed their memorial services, and again, sensing heaven.

Just this past week I visited with a precious lady in the nursing home and we shared the Word and heaven and I reminded her of her mansion which Jesus has gone to prepare for her.  I remember another dear lady who was nearing 103 and she would ask about heaven and how close it was for her.  We shared the Word together and since she had no legs due to amputation, she had the promise that someday she would walk on golden streets with brand new legs!  She had had a beautiful dream in which she saw a lovely golden fountain, and she wondered what that meant for her.  I took her to the 22^nd book of Revelation, which describes the beautiful  river flowing down from the throne of God. Oh, such precious hope we have from our Lord.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” Revelation 21:4.

NO TEARS IN HEAVEN

No tears in heaven, no sorrows given,

All will be glory in that land;

There’ll be no sadness, all will be gladness,

When we shall join that happy band.

No tears in heaven, no tears up there,

Sorrow and pain will all have flown;

No tears no tears, no tears up there,

No tears in heaven will be known.

Glory is waiting, waiting up yonder,

Where we shall spend an endless day;

There with our Saviour, we’ll be forever,

Where no more sorrow can dismay.

Some morning yonder, we’ll cease to ponder

O’er things this life has bro’t to view;

All will be clearer, loved ones be dearer,

In Heav’n where all will be made new.

Robert S. Arnold

Yes, we can look forward to that land of endless joy as we keep our eyes on Jesus as we walk this journey home.  As we continue to walk, we will have storms and rocks in our path, but we continue to look upward and remember that we are just pilgrims passing through. 

My husband and I just celebrated 52 years of marriage.  When we were married we never considered the years ahead and never wondered what it would be like for us 50 years in the future.  We lived our lives as if we would live forever, it seems.  In looking at family pictures now, I realize that in some of those pictures my grandparents were younger than I am now and I thought they were so old! 

And on that wonderful day when we see our Savior face to face,  all the trials of life will seem so dim, when we stand in the light of His presence at last.  We will fall at His feet in grateful praise to finally have arrived in our heavenly home.  And there we will be forever and ever in His presence.

This past weekend we traveled to family which we had not seen for a year, and it is so hard to part and wonder when we shall meet again or what the year will hold for each one of us.  But we love the Lord, and know that someday there won’t be any more “goodbyes.”  We will be all together forever.  Can you imagine with me what that will be like?  We will be with mom again and dad and grandparents and on and on with loved ones and friends forever.

I do pray that you know Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and you are looking upward towards that grand day when you reach your heavenly home.  If you have not accepted Him or have strayed away, please call on Him today.  He is waiting for you and you too will live eternally in our wonderful home and there will be no more tears!  Praise the Lord!

In Jesus’ Wonderful Name,

Pastor Sharon