"That Side"

On this side there is crying,

‘Cause we had to say good-bye,

On the other side rejoicing,

When Mother came to die.

She was always ready,

She had trusted Him to save,

There was no doubt about it,

She received all that He gave.

On this side her frail body,

Was ninety-four years old,

On that side she was younger,

And if the truth is told,

On that side she is dancing,

With those who went before,

And in the arms of Jesus,

On heaven’s happy shore.

Here she lost her memory,

And failed to recognize,

On that side knows as she’s known,

And all her tears He dries.

On this side she was longing,

To simply go on home,

On that side she has made it,

And calls for us to come.

With Granny and Grandaddy,

And Dad, and Tommy, too,

And her daughter, Laura,

All those she loved and knew.

So good-bye dear, sweet Momma,

You showed us all the way,

And now you’re there with Jesus,

We’ll join you there one day.

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Phil. 1:21, NLT)

Mom went home to be with Jesus last night. She was ninety-four years old. I am not sad, really. Why? Because Mom’s life was about Jesus and her death, too. She has crossed over to the eternal day in the full-blown presence of the Lord. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. She would not return here if she could. That’s because her life was a brief moment of history that has now graduated to an eternity of joy with the Lord. She knew it, and I am convinced of it. There is no doubt about it, neither is there any fear. But it’s not because Mom was perfect. I loved her, and thought she was a wonderful woman. But she is not in heaven because of her own goodness. She is there because she received the salvation Jesus died to give her. He made her righteous because she trusted Him to do for her what she could not do. She was saved by grace. And that’s the only way we can. Good news! We can.

Lord, thanks for Mom’s life and death and eternal life, in Jesus’ name.