My Son's Glory Day

I’ve been referring to my son’s day of death as his “death day” for 12 years. On some level, that bothers me. It implies a negative event took place. It was not a fun day for sure, but a very difficult day from a parent’s perspective. But just yesterday, the 12th anniversary of our son’s death, I was thinking how for him it was a day full of glory. The words to a hymn came to mind:

When all my labors and trials are o’er,

And I am safe on that beautiful shore,

Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,

Will through the ages be glory for me.

Chorus:

O that will be, glory for me,

Glory for me, glory for me;

When by his grace I shall look on His face,

That will be glory, be glory for me.

 

When by the gift of his infinite grace,

I am accorded in heaven a place,

Just to be there and to look on His face

Will through the ages be glory for me.

 

Friends will be there I have loved long ago;

Joy like a river around me will flow;

Yet, just a smile from my Saviour, I know,

Will through the ages be glory for me.

[“O That Will be Glory” written by Charles H. Gabriel, 1856-1932.]

From now on, I’m going to call June 8th “my son’s Glory Day.” That’s a far better description of the day we celebrate in memory of our son. We take the day off of work and make a plan to go somewhere we both enjoy, or pick a new place to explore. Our son enjoyed trips and meeting new people. He could start a conversation with anyone and find out all about them in about 10 minutes. I can’t do that even now. I’m laid back and shy around new people. But I do like to explore new places of interest. This plan has helped us to look fondly forward to this day, instead of dreading it. Sure, we still feel that seed of sadness inside us…but the day is not so hard to endure now.

- Written by Marilyn Barto, former BASIS Ministry Secretary