'Til We Meet Again

I attended a couple of deaths on-call at the hospital last night. One rather large family was alternating between crying and hymn-singing at the bedside of their father and husband who'd just died. Before the nurse asked us to leave the room for post-mortem care, I asked if we could sing one song together I'd learned in my own tradition. I sang the benediction we learned from Irene Pak Lee at Montreat Youth Conference this summer (in the video).

Now, this family was very musical - they often sang together at different churches. I told them that I'm not a singer, and I was nervous to sing in the midst of such musical talent, but that I really felt Holy Spirit nudging me to share this song. It's a song my youth group and I now sing every time we leave each other, and I thought it was appropriate for them to sing to their sweet family member. I sang it once through and invited them to join in with me the second time. When their voices joined mine, all of us looking at this dear old man who'd just died, I felt for sure that the veil was thin. God's presence was tangible. It was beautiful. Here are the words:

"May the grace of Christ and the love of God be with you, be with you, til we meet again...
May the fellowship of the Holy One be with you, be with you, til we meet again..."
Amen ❤️