"The streets of gold beyond the crystal Sea"

This last week I was able to be at two beautiful celebration services of dear friends.  My childhood friend lost her sweet Daddy. Another childhood friend lost her sweet Mother.  They had both lived wonderful, full lives and left legacies for those behind them to live by. They both had physically broken bodies but now are whole again and completely healed by Him.  The words of precious old hymns, sung at the services,  were as balm to hurting hearts. They each held so much more meaning than they did when I learned them as a child. As I was growing up, I  always loved singing in church. We had many opportunities to reach into the pews in front of us and pull out those old hymnals to sing from because we were there at church so many times during the week. We didn`t even think about if we were going or not. We didn`t have to check our schedules to see if we had any other activities that might interfere with church. We knew on Sunday morning and again on Sunday night, that we were going to church. We knew on Wednesday night, after homework, we would be eating at church and going to the evening service.  We went to choir on Sunday afternoons each week and if there was a revival, we were there on the second row.  Our Daddy was a deacon at church, sang in the choir, and taught high school boys Sunday School class. Our mother taught Sunday School and was in WMU. No one sat on the second row left, by the piano, because it was OUR row. LOL.I say this to share how those old songs were familiar to us then and so dear to us now because we heard them so much. I used to sing them, not paying attention to the words, just singing. Today, as I am a bit older, I am more intentional and draw on the words from the old hymns for comfort, hope, and encouragement. They are always only a memory away. The celebration services were each a time to reflect on a life well lived.  As I listened to family members speak of the one we were celebrating, there was such hope in each of them. We were there to rejoice that heaven was richer with these sweet ones there on those streets of gold.  We were there to comfort the family as they grieved the loss of the physical presence of their loved ones."Victory in Jesus" was the last song we sang for Mrs. Schaffhausen`s service."I  heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory and I heard about the street of gold beyond the crystal sea About the angels singing and the old redemption story some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory. Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever sought me and He bought me with His redeeming bloodHe loved me 'ere I knew Him And all my love is due HimHe plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood" Dr. Scofield`s family shared that this was their Daddy`s favorite song, so we sang it at his service, with tears flowing,  the image was in our minds, how He meets us in the garden and welcomes us home."I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses and the voice I hear, falling on my ear the Son of God disclosesAnd He walks with meAnd He talks with meAnd He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known "We each will have a service like these one day. What will our legacy be to celebrate?