124. Don't Tell Me That My Time Has Come
The Trigger:
Enjoying an afternoon in the garden with our cat, I imagined that, somewhere in this world, there was an elderly woman, stricken with cancer, who was delighting in the beauty of the day. [I will quickly concede that, at times, I have an excessively active imagination.]
She was very frail, with wisps of hair left from her grievous illness, and the treatments she endured for the same. Her thin skin was marked at placed with dark patches where IVs had been repeatedly administered. She was enjoying what some warned her might be the last Spring day of her life. She was dying. But the perfection of the moment, and the joy that mortality provided caused her to exclaim, "Don't tell me that my time has come." That exact phrase was the trigger for the subsequent verses.
124. "Don't Tell Me That My Time Has Come"
The sun shines brightly through the leaves,
My favorite tree a haven here.
Sweet smells of Spring now scent the breeze,
That passes through my fading hair
Birds frolic, gaily, all around,
And neighbors’ bells sound tinkling charms
My old grey cat patrols our grounds,
Assuring I will face no harm.
Don’t tell me that my time has come.
Through Winter’s storms I kept my faith,
Assured that all things harsh would pass.
So I endured with hope kept safe,
That every trial I’d outlast.
Was I mistaken to believe
That I had seasons yet to live?
Did force of will serve to deceive?
Have I so little left to give?
Don’t tell me that my time has come.
Through decades I have “fought the fight”,
To raise a family with God’s love.
Through every trial I found Light
And Grace and Guidance from above.
And even when my dearest friend,
And help meet left me all alone.
I did not let my caring end
For those entrusted to my home.
Don’t tell me that my time has come.
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The Message:
To return to our imaginary friend, I perceived not merely sorrow at her anticipated passing but also some resentment. “How could this be?” Had she not overcome innumerable travails and griefs of every kind? Had she not remained valiant despite outrageous tests of faith—each one seemingly more unwelcome than the last, and coming in a never ending stream? Her body bore the marks of her pain and her endurance. [In this regard, some of the “free verse” of No. 99, “To A Woman of Tempered Steel” comes to mind.] Given this admirably lengthy history of persistence for the right, those watching might wonder if it would not be more just, more appropriate for a Gracious God to grant the sufferer immortality. Such a desire would be well-intentioned error--for we are all meant to die, and in dying, pass into the Post-Mortal World in preparation for resurrection, and, if we are worthy, the glory of Eternal Life.
And so, were I present in that Spring afternoon with our cancer victim, I might feel compelled to say, “Dear Sister, we must acknowledge that God’s perfect love cannot serve to deny us death. Yes, your time is, indeed, fast approaching. And that is not merely a necessary thing, it is a good thing.” A willingness to return to the Heavenly Presence, despite our flaws and fears, is a consummate test of faith. We know there is a life after death. What we fear is that it will bring us face to face with all of our mortal weaknesses and errors. To not merely accept but to embrace death is a final mortal act of trust in the atonement of the Lord God and the grace of our Heavenly Father based on that atonement. Let us recall Jesus' own promise to all, given to us of the current dispensation.
Doctrine and Covenants 45:1-4
1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given; hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being.
2 And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him--
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.
END NOTE:
This imaginary sister should not fear the promises made by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Despite the temporary terrors of mortality, death is but a portal to the glorious infinity which is the inheritance of the faithful. Like the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:5-55): "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"