I cannot tell why he whom angels worship
should come in flesh as prophets long foretold,
or why the Shepherd longs to save the wanderers
and bring them back rejoicing to the fold.
But this I know, that he was born of Mary
when Bethlehem’s manger was his only home,
and that he lived at Nazareth and labored,
and so the promised Savior of the world is come.
I cannot tell how silently he suffered
as with his peace he graced this place of tears,
or how his heart upon the cross was broken,
the crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted,
and stays our sin and calms our lurking fear,
and lifts the burden from the heavy-laden,
for still the suffering Savior of the world is here.
I cannot tell how he will win the nations,
how he will claim his earthly heritage,
how satisfy the needs and aspirations
of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see his glory,
and he shall reap the harvest he has sown,
and some glad day his sun shall shine in splendor,
when he, the risen Savior of the world, is known.
I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship
when at his bidding,every storm is stilled,
or who can say how great the jubilation
when all our hearts with love for him are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
and countless voices then will join to sing,
and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth will answer:
“At last the living Savior of the world is King!”

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

There is a time for everything,
And a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home,
And may the land of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

You were a precious gift,

Our joy, our dreams.

You were a sparkle through the darkness;

Our hope for a brighter tomorrow.

You warmed our hearts, gave light to our minds,

And beauty to our spirits.

We gave you our love, wrapped you in our care,

caressed you with our smiles.

Now you are gone.

We grieve. We miss you so much.

The loving memories of you will keep you

Forever close to us – in our hearts,

our thoughts, our souls….

You can shed tears that he is gone,
Or you can smile because he lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all he’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him,
Or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him and only that he’s gone,
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back,
Or you can do what he’d want:
Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she’d want
– smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

David Harkins

True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally, 
And none can dim its special glow or change its destiny. 
True love speaks in tender tones and hears with gentle ear, 
True love gives with open heart and true love conquers fear. 
True love makes no harsh demands It neither rules nor binds, 
True love holds with gentle hands the hearts that it entwines.

For brief and fleeting moment, an angel touched the ground;
With tiny wings and halo, and sweet, soft angel sounds.
Blessing the lives of others, in beauty and in grace;
Those who saw the angel, knew God had kissed his tiny face.
The angel came for reasons we may not understand;
A journey brief, with gifts so great, and guided by God’s hand.

So, rest now tiny angel, your work on earth is through;
In the beauty of God’s perfect love we saw His gift in you.

Though I am dead grieve not for me with tears
think not of death with sorrowing and tears;
I am so near that every tear you shed
touches and tortures me though you think me dead.
But when you laugh and sing in glad delight,
my soul is lifted upward to the light.
Laugh and be glad for all that life is giving
and I, though dead, will share your joy in living.

It’s always those who love the most
Who most miss the one they love,
When comes the parting of the ways,
And clouds loom dark above;
But tears will pass, your skies will clear
Then will you smile again,
And comfort find in memories,
Which now bring bitter pain.

The tide recedes
but leaves behind
bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, 
but gentle warmth
still lingers on the land.
The music stops, 
And yet it echoes on
in sweet refrains.
For every joy that passes, 
something beautiful remains.

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free,
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I’ve found that peace at the end of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes, these things too I will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

With tears we saw you suffer,
As we watched you fade away,
Our hearts were almost broken,
As you fought so hard to stay.
We knew you had to leave us,
But you never went alone,
For part of us went with you
The day you left your home.

Remember me when I am gone away,
gone far away into the silent land;
when you can no more hold me by the hand,
nor half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
you tell me of our future that you planned;
only remember me, you understand
it will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
and afterwards remember, do not grieve;
For if the darkness and corruption leave
a vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
better by far you should forget and smile
than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rossetti

I remember everything about you,
your voice, your smile, your touch,
the way you walked, the way you talked,
the way you looked at me, meant so much.

I remember all the words you said to me,
some funny, some kind, some wise,
all of the things you did for me,
I see now with different eyes.

I remember every moment we shared,
seems like only yesterday,
or maybe it was eons ago,
It’s really hard to say.

You are gone from me now,
but one thing they can’t take away,
your memory resides inside my heart,
and lights up my darkest days.

Feel no guilt in laughter, she knows how much you care
Feel no sorrow in a smile that she’s not here to share
You cannot grieve forever, she would not want you to
She’d hope that you can carry on, the way you always do
So talk about the good times and the ways you showed you cared
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared
Let memories surround you.


A word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day
That brings her back as clearly as though she were still here
And fills you with the feelings that she is always near
For if you keep these moments, you will never be apart
And she will live forever locked safe within your heart.


Into the darkness and warmth of the earth
We lay you down.

Into the sadness and smiles of our memories
We lay you down.

Into the cycle of living and dying and rising again
We lay you down.

May you rest in peace, in fulfilment, in loving
May you run straight home into God’s embrace.

Into the freedom of wind and sunshine
We let you go.

Into the dance of the stars and the planets
We let you go.

Into the wind’s breath and the hands of the star maker
We let you go.

We love you, we miss you, we want you to be happy
Go safely, go dancing, go running home.

Our lives go on without you
But nothing is the same
We have to hide our heartache
When someone speaks your name
Sad are the hearts that love you
Silent are the tears that fall
Living without you is the hardest part of all
You did so many things for us
Your heart was so kind and true
And when we needed someone
We could always count on you
The special years will not return
When we are all together
But with the love in our hearts
You walk with us forever.



Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see. I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts, and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn’t tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.
I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you’ve given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
but now it is time I travelled on alone.
So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
that it is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.
I won’t be far away for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear
All my love around you soft and clear
And then, when you come this way along,
I’ll greet you with a smile and a “Welcome Home”.

The church is full of people who have come to say goodbye.
But no one wants to see you go
And we’re all left asking why?
In our pain and tears we share a heartache that cannot heal
But in our minds we keep our memories that none can ever steal.
We all can feel your hand in ours
And see your loving face
You haven’t gone, I feel you here
A love I can’t replace.
You meant so much to each of us
In our hearts you’ll always be
I hope you knew how precious you were
To them, to us, to me.

God looked around his Garden and found an empty place.
He then looked down upon his earth and saw your loving face.
He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest.
His Garden must be beautiful, he always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering, he knew you were in pain.
And knew that you would never get well on earth again.
He saw your path was difficult, he closed your tired eyes,
He whispered to you “Peace be Thine” and gave you wings to fly.
When we saw you sleeping so calm and free of pain,
We would not wish you back to earth to suffer once again.
You’ve left us precious memories, your love will be our guide,
You live on through your children, you’re always by our side.
It broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone.
For part of us went with you on the day God called you home.

The first candle represents our grief.
The pain of losing you is intense.
It reminds us of the depth of our
love for you.
This second candle represents
our courage.
To confront our sorrow,
To comfort each other,
To change our lives.
This third candle we light in your memory.
For the times we laughed,
The times we cried,
The times we were angry with each other,
The silly things you did,
The caring and joy you gave us.
This fourth candle we light for our love.
We light this candle that your light will always shine.
As we enter this holiday season and
share this night of remembrance
with our family and friends.
We cherish the special place in our hearts
that will always be reserved for you.
We thank you for the gift 
your living brought to each of us.
We love you.
We remember you.

Don’t weep at my grave,
For I am not there,
I’ve a date with a butterfly
to dance in the air.
I’ll be singing in the sunshine,
Wild and free,
Playing tag with the wind
Please don’t weep for me.
How can I live
What am I to do
Now a part of my heart,
Is buried with you?

Don’t cry for me now I have died,
for I’m still here I’m by your side,
My body’s gone but my soul is here,
please don’t shed another tear,
I am still here I’m all around,
only my body lies in the ground.
I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,
I am the frost, that nips your toes.
I am the sun, bringing you light,
I am the star, shining so bright.
I am the rain, refreshing the earth,
I am the laughter, I am the mirth.
I am the bird, up in the sky,
I am the cloud, that’s drifting by.
I am the thoughts, inside your head,
While I’m still there, I can’t be dead.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

Author Mary Frye