Remembering

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of my mother's death.  Today I listened over and over to a song about heaven that someone linked to on Facebook.  I'm sure I've heard or perhaps even sung the song before, but I still had to listen carefully to understand the words.  It's not very familiar.

It didn't dawn on me till this evening that I was subconsciously referencing the memory of Mom going home.  I only knew that the song moved me and made me long for heaven.

The singing group appeared to be African, and I loved how joy shone on their faces as they sang.  I'll link to it here.  A little sleuthing later revealed that this is a Seventh Day Adventist choir from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

I'll also link here to the site from which the words below are copied.  That site also contains copies of the music and a brief story about Frederick M. Lehman, who wrote both the words and the music.

1 There’s no disappointment in Heaven,

No weariness, sorrow or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken,
No song with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon
Will never appear in the sky,
For all will be sunshine and gladness,
With never a sob or a sigh.

Refrain:
I’m bound for that beautiful city,
My Lord has prepared for His own;
Where all the redeemed of all ages
Sing Glory! around the white throne;
Sometimes I grow homesick for Heaven,
And the glories I there shall behold;
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see,
In that beautiful city of gold.

2 We’ll never pay rent for our mansion,
The taxes will never come due,
Our garments will never grow threadbare,
But always be fadeless and new,
We’ll never be hungry or thirsty,
Nor languish in poverty there,
For all the rich bounties of Heaven
His sanctified children will share. [Refrain]

3 There’ll never be crepe on the doorknob,
No funeral train in the sky;
No graves on the hillsides of glory,
For there we shall nevermore die.
The old will be young there forever,
Transformed in a moment of time;
Immortal we’ll stand in His likeness,
The stars and the sun to outshine. [Refrain]

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I'm remembering also tonight the words of Jayapradha, who sometimes sees things invisible to the rest of us.  Here's a quote from a blog post I wrote about it almost a year ago:   "It was after she had died that she told Lois that she had seen God taking Mom into heaven's Holy of Holys.  She also said, "I saw the Savior and the angels welcoming her, and the angels were really, really happy."  

That post is here.