Remember the holiday season when family would come to visit? Our homes would be open to aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, cousins and nephews, relatives who traveled days to stay with us during the holidays. I can still hear the ringing laughter and recall the days packed with meals together, games, stories and memories. We stayed up late talking and spent each day building stronger bonds with those we love.
But inevitably, the vacation comes to an end. The car’s packed and the family is on their way back home. My strongest memories of those days are not the awkward early hours when ‘family comes to town,’ or even the activities that filled those days. The clearest memories I have of those family holidays are centered on the departure of our loved ones. Standing at the door step and watching them back out of the driveway. As a matter of fact, there were times I cried as my grandparents drove off into the distance. And if we’re honest with ourselves, the ‘loss’ is more strongly felt by those left behind than those who ‘travel on.’ When we leave to go home we have the road ahead of us. The terrain changes with every mile and our eyes focus and refocus on the panoramic scenes around us. Travelers stay busy anticipating what’s around the next corner. But those left behind experience a house of quiet solitude where once the walls echoed with laughter. Yesterday was filled with rambunctious excitement, but today we return to the quiet routine.
Perhaps, in similar fashion, losing a family member to death can leave that same emptiness that we feel when the vacation is over. We’ve enjoyed the time together, growing closer, but then the day is over and we’re left alone in a quiet house. The proverbial bags have been packed and the family has ‘gone home.’ And as we stand at the threshold waving goodbye, we feel the emptiness of being left behind.
Caroline Sprague Smith wrote a hymn that echoes the heart of those who have stood alone, facing the end of life. Of course, it could very well match the thoughts of those watching their loved ones ‘drive off’ into the sunset. As she penned this prayer for Christ to ‘tarry with me,’ we see the emotion of being left alone and the emptiness we face…when the vacation is over.
1 Tarry with me, O my Savior! For the day is passing by;
See! the shades of evening gather, And the night is drawing nigh.
Chorus: Tarry with me, blessed Savior; Leave me not till morning light;
For I’m lonely here without Thee; Tarry with me thro’ the night.
2 Deeper, deeper grow the shadows, Paler now the glowing west,
Swift the night of death advances; Shall it be the night of rest?
Chorus:
3 Lonely seems the vale of shadow; Sinks my heart with troubled fear;
Give me faith for clearer vision, Speak Thou, Lord, in words of cheer.
Chorus:
4 Let me hear Thy voice behind me, Calming all these wild alarms;
Let me, underneath my weakness, Feel the everlasting arms.
Chorus:
5 Feeble, trembling, fainting, dying, Lord, I cast myself on Thee;
Tarry with me through the darkness; While I sleep, still watch by me.
Chorus:
6 Tarry with me, O my Savior! Lay my head upon Thy breast
Till the morning; then awake me! Morning of eternal rest.
Chorus: Tarry with me, blessed Savior; Leave me not till morning light;
For I’m lonely here without Thee; Tarry with me thro’ the night.