Night Will Yield to Light
When grief becomes a river
Too deep for me to cross,
You walk beside me, Father,
And hold me through my loss.
When strength has left my body,
When words refuse to come,
You lift me in Your mercy
And gently carry me homeward.
My friends may share my sorrow,
Yet cannot feel my pain;
The one I loved was precious
In ways I can’t explain.
No heart can know completely
What that dear life meant to me;
But You know every memory,
And every tear You see.
So carry me through the river, Lord,
When grief is deep and wide;
Hold me when I cannot stand,
And stay close by my side.
However long my night may last,
I know the morning’s near;
For night must yield before the light,
And You are always here.
My weeping has its nighttime;
My joy will have its dawn.
Some nights are brief and passing;
Some linger painfully on.
I cannot know my timetable,
Nor when the dark will cease;
But darkness cannot conquer light,
And sorrow cannot silence peace.
I will not choose forgetting—
Love never asks me to.
My memories hold a dwelling
Where love keeps living true.
For love inhabits memory,
And memory gives it wings;
Beyond the reach of death itself,
Love rises, soars, and sings.
And one day I will journey
Where my beloved has gone;
The ones who love me here on earth
May grieve when I move on.
For I, too, must cross death’s portal;
This earthly life must end.
Yet death will not possess me—
In Christ, life waits beyond.
A hundred years of earthly days
Will seem a fleeting breath
Beside the endless life You give
Beyond the gate of death.
So while I live, teach me to spend
My days on what will last,
Until I hear, “Well done, good servant,”
And earthly grief is past.
Carry me through the river, Lord,
Safe to gratitude’s shore;
Teach me to treasure what I had
And love You even more.
And when my longest night is done
And heaven’s light I see,
Bring me safely home at last
To live eternally.
