Until Then

Yesterday as I drove to see my father in law in that facility I have come to dislike so much, I heard a song that really tugged at my heart.  As if I needed any help, it drew the tears in buckets.  The song is called Until Then. 

I recall a music minister once telling us that his choice of worship music might not be the same as his son's choices in music but in the act of worship is the same.  I have to admit that while I like contemporary music, I am drawn to the hymns. 

When I hear them I have a tendency to sing them in Spanish, even if I am listening in English.  That is simply because that is the language I learned them in.  Our small church sang them in Spanish and repetition allowed us to learn them in that language. 

This one however, I did not recall.  What drew me to this hymn was the lyrics and as I pulled into that facility I heard:

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that's winding always upward,
This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then my heart will go on singing
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

With tears streaming I am singing "until then with joy I'll carry on."  I would venture to say that there are so many also singing that song and trying to carry on with joy.  Perhaps they have also lost a dear friend, a child to college, a spouse, but yet they carry on with joy....the joy only Christ can offer.

Perhaps its not a loss with "finality" maybe you have lost someone that is "still here." Perhaps it's a parent that you have lost to dementia, or a broken hip or a debilitating disease.  This is not our final home...let that bring comfort.

While the situation may look dark through your eyes, know that there is hope.  This heartache is "but a stepping stone."  Our future is the promise of eternal life with Jesus Christ.  This world is temporary. 

One day, those who are in Christ will be with Christ.  Until then....my heart will go on singing and with joy I'll carry on.  Until then. 

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown, in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.  1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

Until Then (c) 1958 Hamblem Music, Stewart Hamblem