Crossing Over

Today I stand before the river wide,
Looking across to the other side.
My heart races, I flinch in fear,
For I know the time of my crossing is near.

Oh what beauty there awaits,
Shielded behind that great Pearly Gate.
Yet I feel the pangs of fear,
For I have so much to leave here.

Why must I choose; what shall I say;
How can I go, how can I stay?
Am I to know the right play,
How shall I know which way?

Then a clear and angelic voice rings,
Through the air the sweet voice sings.
"Come with me" it calls from before,
Heaven is waiting on that bright shore.

And so I turn back for one last look,
One last glance at their faces I took.
My dear loved ones are left behind,
Their tear-washed faces glisten and shine.

Do they know how hard this is for me?
Do they understand why I leave?
Can they know the joy that awaits
My arrival inside that Pearly Gate?

Dear Lord, please tell them I'm okay.
I'll be waiting for the day
When their sweet faces again I see,
When they cross over to be with me.

What a joyous reunion awaits before,
When we see each other on that far shore.
Reunions are sweet down here below,
But not as sweet as where I go.

No more to be parted, no more pain to bear;
No more tears or suffering, no burden or care.
We'll spend eternity praising our King,
While eternity rolls and the angels sing.

(I am by no means a poetry writer. This was given to me by the Lord just days before my precious husband passed away. We had talked about his desire to go, yet also his longing to stay with me. For perhaps the first time, I understood just how much he loved me; enough to have a difficult time choosing between his heavenly home and his earthly home with me. What a precious blessing to have been loved like that!)