Gone from My Sight
September 23, 2012 by Lillie
My beloved husband Jack went to Heaven this morning. I will miss him terribly but I am so glad that he is no longer in pain and no longer confused. May Light Perpetual shine upon him.
O GOD, whose mercies cannot be numbered; Accept our prayers on behalf of the soul of thy servant departed, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. ~ John 14:1-3 (KJV)
Gone From My Sight
by Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me — not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”
And that is dying…
Lillie,
I am so sorry for your loss. May God give you comfort during this time.
Thank you, bluestocking. Although I miss him terribly, I am peace knowing he is pain-free and alert in Heaven.
I know how difficult this must be for you Lillie but we know Jack is now happy in heaven.
Jane,
Sad as I am for myself, I’m glad for him.
I’m sorry to here this . May god bless him in Heaven .
Thank you, Heather.
R.I.P your husband. I deeply sympathize with you. Hope you will come over this.
Thank you, Michelle.
Be stronger to get over this difficulty, Lillie . Time will heal all pain. God bless!
Thank you, Emily.
Lillie, I’m terribly sorry to hear this. You are in my prayers. God bless.
Thank you, Anni.
Lillie, I am so sorry to hear that Jack is no longer with you. It is a huge blessing to know that he is with our Lord. You are in my prayers.
Much love, Linda Farley
Thank you, Linda. He is with the Lord–out of pain and lucid and healthy again. Though I am sad for myself, I am so happy for him.
Lillie,
Caring thoughts are with you.
The poem is beautiful!
Doris
Thank you, Doris. The hospice social worker gave me a pamphlet entitled “Gone from My Sight,” which had information about the end-of-life journey and included that poem.
Oh Lillie. I am so sorry for your loss. My heart aches with you my friend. I know he is out of pain and he now remembers everything. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers my dear sweet friend.
Thank you, Dominique.
Oh, Lillie I am so sorry for your deep loss. He was so fortunate to have you by his side. This is a beautiful momorium for him.
Thank you, Victoria.
May God give you a peace that passes all understanding. I am so sorry for your loss, but glad that at least your husband is at peace and not in pain or confused.
Thank you, Heather. I do indeed feel that peace that passes understanding.
I am so sorry for your loss, Lillie. As you walk through this valley of the shadow of death, I know you will remember that it is just a shadow and the Lord will comfort you.
Thank you, Debra. I feel the peace that passes understanding and am so happy that Jack is now free from pain and has his memory back in Heaven with the Lord.
I am extremely sorry to hear this and I am trying to understand your pain as well. However, I know he was suffering a lot and may his soul finally rest in peace. You take care of yourself in this condition and stay strong because I am sure he would stay happy up there if you stay the same over here.
Thank you, Jemmy. I am blessed to have the love and support of man people who are ensuring that I take care of myself.
Death of spouse is great loss. My well wishes are always with you both.
Thank you, Nawaz.
i’m so sorry for your loss. may God bless you always.
Thank you, vicky.
Lillie, I am so sorry for your loss. My heart weeps for you. I read this yesterday and was saddened. Reading it again today made me sadder still. But I am glad he is with the Lord and healthy again. And I love the title you chose for this blog post. It is so true of death. We are not really “gone” when we die. We are gone from a person’s sight but we are still there in a person’s heart and in memories. You are in my prayers. May God comfort you during this time.
Dawn,
The blog post title came from the title of a pamphlet the hospice social worker gave me. The booklet’s title came from the title of the Van Dyke poem quoted in the pamphlet.
I seriously don’t know what to tell you at this point of time. I wish I had the right words to make you feel alright. I know how hard it is to even breathe when someone close to you passes away. But life is never fair. All you can do is let time heal your pain. For now all I can say is think of all the beautiful time you spend with him and pray to God.
Juliette,
I was blessed to be with Jack constantly for the last few weeks of his life. Before that, I was with him most of the time for the previous year and a half.
Death is reality that everyone has to face.I am really sad because of Jack death.His soul will be in comfort because of his good deeds.
Thank you, Maja. I am comforted knowing that Jack is in Heaven with the Lord.
Oh Lillie, I am so sorry. It looked like he was on the mend there, so this is quite a shock. You have my thoughts and prayers.
Leo,
I knew he was not on the mend, that any improvement would be temporary. However, I didn’t expect to go quite so fast. We put him in hospice, which is care for terminally ill patients typically when they are expected to have about six months left to lives. He didn’t even live six days after he entered hospice care. But I am thankful that he went quickly and easily–he didn’t have a long period of suffering.
I am really sorry for your loss Lillie. Have faith and trust that Jack is in a better and happier place. Take care. Our prayers go with you.
Thank you, Paul. I always appreciate prayer.
I’m so sorry for you. Years of togetherness, that happy retired life, snapped in a moment. I believe he would’ve willingly endured more pain just to stay with you for a some more time. May he rest in peace. And know this, we are always with you, if not around you.
Thank you, Steve. We had a blessed life together.
I cant imagine the pain you must be feeling right now. Me and my family are praying that God gives you strength and courage to live through this testing times. Hope wherever your husband is, he is happy and at peace. I just want to say that we all are there for you to support you in your time of need.
Thank you, David. I am at peace, knowing my husband is in Heaven reunited with loved ones who have gone before and healthy again.
Death is a different reality at each phase of our lives.Coping with death as we age is just hard as it was when we were young. I am really sorry for your loss, Lillie. I know how much you must be missing him. But somewhere round he wants you to stay happy. I deeply feel bad for you. Hope you will come over this soon. Take Care!
Thank you, Jack. I am comforted as I know Jack is happy and healthy again, and I was with him 24/7 the last couple of years of his life.