Light in the darkness,
Peace in the storm;
In wretched stable
Our Savior was born.
Forgiveness for sinners,
Hope for the lost;
Hatred now broken —
At unmeasured cost.
Love brought to sinners,
The ugly made whole;
To broken and battered
He shows heaven’s door.
Friend to the unlovely,
The lost and forlorn —
Caught now in sin’s prison,
The fetters are torn.
Come, all you people;
Sing now His praise.
The One who will save us
Is Jesus by name.
Love is patient,
Love is kind —
Let God’s love possess your mind.
Love’s not boasting,
Love’s not proud —
Let us sing His praises loud.
Love’s not jealous,
Love’s not rude —
With forgiveness it’s imbued.
Love rejoices
In the truth —
Love forever does endure.
Love doesn’t give up,
It doesn’t lose faith —
It’s never early, never late.
Always hopeful,
Always free —
Love is our true destiny.
When dreams are dead
Men lose their heart,
And, like dead men,
They fall apart.
Inside, unseen,
Their souls like stone,
Bear calloused wounds,
Exist forlorn.
Let not dreams die —
Still deep inside,
Quench not the fire
Of hope alive.
Let Love somehow
Heal deepest wounds.
Let Jesus’ love
Break open tombs!
Then shout, and sing,
Our voices raise!
Hosannahs bring
In humble praise!
Go out onto the water;
Yes, take the first brave step.
No doubt cause you to falter,
Nor look in water’s depth.
Climb up onto the summit;
Go forth one step each time.
Fear not, and you’ll not plummet —
The view will be sublime.
Reach out to many hurting,
One person at a time.
Though you don’t feel worthy,
God’s love from you must shine.
Go forth into the darkness,
Though you do not know the way.
There’s death and there is starkness,
But His light will be your stay.
Keep on, though you are weary;
Make your eyes look up above.
Your goal, which is God’s heaven
Will heal your heart with love.
Life goes on, life goes on
Even when you thought it gone,
Even when you tried so hard
To shut it out and want it done.
It has a way of oozing out,
To make you cry,
To make you shout —
Life goes on.
I wonder if I really tried
To fully live and not to hide —
I wonder if I laughed and cried,
Would life go on?
If people knew my inner thoughts,
Would life go on?
If sometimes I would just express
Some tenderness,
Would it embarrass?
If honestly I said my piece,
And calmly thoughts I did release
With love, respect,
But would it still
Cause some regrets?
Does anybody want the truth?
Or would they rather have deceit?
Would they want to sugar coat
And keep our friendship on remote?
And even I
Might tell a lie
When fear is crouching
At my door.
But while there’s life there’s hope;
It’s not a joke.
The song of the train’s whistle
Through my window:
It’s like summer in my mind.
Smiles break out
And there’s plenty to eat,
And plenty of time.
When the flowers bloom,
Grim faces begin to relax.
Death has been defeated
One more time;
The winter’s grip is passed.
Though it’s not summer yet,
I can live it in my mind.
10/27/12 Saturday
Mom went to intensive care tonight, on a BPAP machine (helps her to breathe). She was having spasms due to lack of oxygen to the brain, I think. I’m hoping to drive to Kaiser Hospital in Roseville tomorrow to see her. Her health has not been well and it may be that all of us kids will be with her tomorrow. My husband Tom is on a trip, so please pray that everyone is safe in their travels, that God’s will be done regarding my mother, and that we will be a comfort to her.
10/28/12 Sunday
On Sunday, she had an about an hour of wakefulness at one point. She repeated three times, “Heaven is the only goal”. Then she blessed each one of us kids individually, with a special word for each one. I’m so grateful we had that time.
10/30/12 Tuesday (don’t know where Monday went)
Tuesday was a very good day for mom, emotionally and spiritually speaking. A person from the local church prayed with her, as they do every day. Also, a priest friend of hers called from Africa! I held the phone to her ear and she smiled. She seemed much more peaceful throughout the day. she would smile at us with love when awake, but could only speak one word now and then. Her smile lights up the room! More smiles than I’ve seen on the previous days.
10/31/12
Her best friend from El Cerrito visited her. Tom decided the previous day to cancel his trip and arrived a bit earlier. A harpist [part of the Kaiser Roseville chaplaincy department] came and played for about 1/2 an hour! Lots of prayer and thanks for yours.
11/1/12
Mom was still with us in the morning. She developed a fever and a problem with one of her IVs, but they got all that under control.
She passed away peacefully at about 3:30 p.m. A hospital chaplain had happened (?) to come in and realized that she was passing. I was out in the hallway and they yelled for me. All of her children (four of us), two spouses and two girlfriends were there. Amazing that we all got to be there.
Thank you so much for your prayers for her and our family. I am joyful in the sense that she’s now free of any suffering and with Jesus in heaven, but sad about her leaving us.
There is a far and distant land
Of which we all must dream
Where tears turn into diamonds
And laughter runs in streams
Where children play along that shore
And dance in bright sunbeams
Where hungers are all satisfied
And wounds long held do mend
Where strife and sin are but a dream
And troubled thoughts at end
There is a far and distant land
To which we all must look
And if I knew it very well
I’d write it in a book
‘Til then while life’s strains take up time
Our hope is in that land divine
April 12, 2012
There is a far and distant land
Of which we all must dream,
Where tears turn into diamonds
And laughter flows in streams,
Where children play along the shore
And dance in bright sunbeams.
Where hungers are all satisfied
And long-held wounds are healed,
Where sin and strife are but a dream
And troubled thoughts have ceased.
There is a far and distant land
To which we all must look,
And if I knew it very well
I’d write it in a book.
‘Til then while life’s strains take up time,
Our hope is in that land divine
clarakatalin 
Christ is My Hope
I love cemeteries. They are quiet and peaceful. I think of the people resting there and hopefully they are completely at peace.
So Christmas day, my kids and I took a walk to Maple Leaf Cemetery in Oak Harbor, Washington. The walk itself was brisk, both in speed and in the weather. After a few meanderings we found the cemetery. One grave I saw was of a three-and-a-half month old child, which brought me to tears. Then, a young man of 28, obviously well loved. More tears. As I walked, a group of people across the cemetery seemed to be having a party. They had their car door open, and Christmas music came from its radio. Perhaps celebrating Christmas as they remembered a life well lived.
The final grave I looked at is pictured here. “Christ is My Hope” was the epitaph. I can honestly say that is true for me.
I just now noticed that there is no date of death, and that the birth date was in 1915, which means the person is now 98 years of age. I am glad the person has faced the reality of death and has the hope of resurrection.
Just a few days later, we visited my uncle by marriage, who is now 100 years old. He still walks an hour a day using his walker. His mind is still pretty sharp. What an amazing man.
Still, we never know when we might go.
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Christian, Commentary
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