So Far, So Near a poem by Martha Snell Nicholson

Such a little while
In which to go so far.
A heartbeat . . . She was gone
Beyond the farthest star!

But space as well as time
To God are but a breath.
And He who gave us life
Is master too of death.

And whether quick or dead
We rest within His hand;
Whether here or in
That brighter, fairer Land.

These precious dead of ours,
They will return some day
Along the star-strewn road
Which took them far away.

The Lord Himself our Guide -
A shout of joy, a light -
And through the open skies
We too shall take our flight!

A Jacob's ladder there,
By faith I see it rise,
A pathway up to God,
A stairway in the skies!

By Martha Snell Nicholson

Revelation 14:12-13 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.