Finally Home!
Finally Home by Don Wyrtzen
When alarmed by the fury of the restless sea,
Towering waves before you roll,
At the end of doubt and peril is eternity,
Though fear and conflict seize your soul
But just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's,
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home."
When surrounded by the blackness of the darkest night,
Oh how lonely death can be!
At the end of this long tunnel is a shinning light,
For death is swallowed-up in Victory!
Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's,
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home
Do you have a day in your mind that sticks with you as a day that has changed the course of your life forever? January 26, 1997, was one of those days in my life that I've been recalling many times recently for a variety of reasons. I just moved to Elmira about 3 months before. Because of my work schedule, I was not able to attend church as regularly as I would have liked, but on this late January day I had the opportunity to attend a church luncheon. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a woman who I would come to have a great respect for...Marian Payne.
As Marian and I was talking after lunch, she said "There's a nice Christian man I'd like you to meet." Tim and I were in the same Sunday School class, but at this point we had not been officially introduced. A few minutes later, Tim was standing by a coat rack and Marian proceeded to introduce us. It was an awkward shy meeting, but it set in motion the chain of events that would bring us back to church nearly 8 months later for a wedding. Marian's husband, Mel, was a big part of our romance story too. He encouraged Tim to ask me out, which Tim did a couple of months later. Marian honored us by playing the organ on our special day. She got to play that Wedding March that I had dreamed of walking down the aisle to! I can't believe it's been 15 years this year.
Sadly, now we will return to our church for the funeral of this dear, wonderful woman! I can truly say that Marian was one of the most Godly women I have met in my lifetime. She died on my birthday, January 11, of pancreatic cancer. Throughout the 15 years that I have known Marian, she has been such an encouragement to me. When we lost Gabrielle, she came to the hospital to visit me. She shared that she too had lost a baby. She and her husband had a son who at 7 months old died due to a undetected heart problem. A few years later she let me read her book of memories she had written just for her children. Another great memory is of when we still lived in Montour Falls, Marian invited us down to her house for dinner. It was a nice sunny day I remember. In 2004, we became neighbors. We many times would stop and talk to Marian when she was on her front porch as we walked by.
What a testimony Marian had!!! She had been plagued with many health issues and other heartaches in the past few years. Through it all, she never complained. The type of cancer she had is known to be very painful. She was diagnosed back in early Fall. She was not in pain until a few days before her death. Her son in law was telling us Wednesday night at prayer meeting that she had been a great witness to her hospice nurses and neighbors through this most recent illness. She told me herself a few weeks ago that she used a Thanksgiving poster we made for her as a witnessing opportunity to her nurses. As sick as she was, she showed a very unusual, inspiring peace. It's a peace I know I wouldn't naturally have.
On Thursday morning after hearing the news that she died, I thought about the song, Finally Home by Don Wyrtzen, which I included the words in the opening of this entry. Pay close attention to the chorus which I highlighted in red. I was trying to imagine how unbelievably amazing it must have been for Marian to be face to face with God! She didn't want to leave her family behind, especially her husband who she just celebrated 57 years with. However, she sure was looking forward to that day when she would be with God. Marian's death is quite a big loss for me personally and for our little church family, but she was ready to meet her Lord and Savior. I'm hanging on to the hope that I will see Marian again very soon in heaven. That's a hope that her family shared with me as I talked to them at Marian's calling hours this afternoon. What a day that will be!!!!!
When alarmed by the fury of the restless sea,
Towering waves before you roll,
At the end of doubt and peril is eternity,
Though fear and conflict seize your soul
But just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's,
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home."
When surrounded by the blackness of the darkest night,
Oh how lonely death can be!
At the end of this long tunnel is a shinning light,
For death is swallowed-up in Victory!
Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's,
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home
Do you have a day in your mind that sticks with you as a day that has changed the course of your life forever? January 26, 1997, was one of those days in my life that I've been recalling many times recently for a variety of reasons. I just moved to Elmira about 3 months before. Because of my work schedule, I was not able to attend church as regularly as I would have liked, but on this late January day I had the opportunity to attend a church luncheon. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a woman who I would come to have a great respect for...Marian Payne.
As Marian and I was talking after lunch, she said "There's a nice Christian man I'd like you to meet." Tim and I were in the same Sunday School class, but at this point we had not been officially introduced. A few minutes later, Tim was standing by a coat rack and Marian proceeded to introduce us. It was an awkward shy meeting, but it set in motion the chain of events that would bring us back to church nearly 8 months later for a wedding. Marian's husband, Mel, was a big part of our romance story too. He encouraged Tim to ask me out, which Tim did a couple of months later. Marian honored us by playing the organ on our special day. She got to play that Wedding March that I had dreamed of walking down the aisle to! I can't believe it's been 15 years this year.
Sadly, now we will return to our church for the funeral of this dear, wonderful woman! I can truly say that Marian was one of the most Godly women I have met in my lifetime. She died on my birthday, January 11, of pancreatic cancer. Throughout the 15 years that I have known Marian, she has been such an encouragement to me. When we lost Gabrielle, she came to the hospital to visit me. She shared that she too had lost a baby. She and her husband had a son who at 7 months old died due to a undetected heart problem. A few years later she let me read her book of memories she had written just for her children. Another great memory is of when we still lived in Montour Falls, Marian invited us down to her house for dinner. It was a nice sunny day I remember. In 2004, we became neighbors. We many times would stop and talk to Marian when she was on her front porch as we walked by.
What a testimony Marian had!!! She had been plagued with many health issues and other heartaches in the past few years. Through it all, she never complained. The type of cancer she had is known to be very painful. She was diagnosed back in early Fall. She was not in pain until a few days before her death. Her son in law was telling us Wednesday night at prayer meeting that she had been a great witness to her hospice nurses and neighbors through this most recent illness. She told me herself a few weeks ago that she used a Thanksgiving poster we made for her as a witnessing opportunity to her nurses. As sick as she was, she showed a very unusual, inspiring peace. It's a peace I know I wouldn't naturally have.
On Thursday morning after hearing the news that she died, I thought about the song, Finally Home by Don Wyrtzen, which I included the words in the opening of this entry. Pay close attention to the chorus which I highlighted in red. I was trying to imagine how unbelievably amazing it must have been for Marian to be face to face with God! She didn't want to leave her family behind, especially her husband who she just celebrated 57 years with. However, she sure was looking forward to that day when she would be with God. Marian's death is quite a big loss for me personally and for our little church family, but she was ready to meet her Lord and Savior. I'm hanging on to the hope that I will see Marian again very soon in heaven. That's a hope that her family shared with me as I talked to them at Marian's calling hours this afternoon. What a day that will be!!!!!
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