God looked around His garden
And He found an empty place.
He then looked down upon this earth,
And saw your tired face.
He put His arms around you
And lifted you to rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again
He saw that the road was getting rough
And the hills were hard to climb.
So he closed your weary eyelids,
And whispered, “Peace be thine.”
It broke our hearts to lose you
But you didn’t go alone
For part of us went with you
The day God called you home. 

Jerome T. Heckenkamp
October 1979 – March 8, 2016

“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret?
There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
— C.S. Lewis