John R Ecob
In memory of my dear wife, Joan,
departed to be with Christ 29-12-13.
Some people start their married life
With a lovely home for their lovely wife;
Their honeymoon takes them far away
To a tropic isle with a hidden bay.
They stay away for quite a while;
So many photos they need a file.
They both have jobs; they are not poor
With lush thick carpet on the floor.
When Joan and I began our life
Together as a man and wife,
our honeymoon was short and sweet;
We had no house in a leafy street.
A flat beneath a couple’s home,
And an old black car in which to roam;
A box of groceries given by mum
Was all we had; it was the sum.
We had no plans except to be
The servants of the Lord so free;
To do whatever He should choose;
This way we knew we’d never lose.
At a little church in a Balmain street
We gathered at the Saviour’s feet;
For about a year we continued there;
We rejoiced as just a happy pair.
We knew a house we’d have to get
to care for those we would beget;
At first we bought a simple shed;
A temporary dwelling with a bed.
We worked so hard to pay the bill
and built a house that we could fill.
Joan drew the plans and it was flash;
We’d sold the car to get the cash.
It was our first real dwelling place
Amongst mankind in the human race;
We used it too to reach the lost;
To teach God’s Word at no small cost.
And then one day the Lord said move
Out to the West His will to prove;
Another house we now must build
If we‘re to do what God has willed.
Joan planned this house and it was built;
She found the land and did not wilt
Until the final nail was driven;
The place she planned; a touch of heaven.
But then one day the Lord said, “Come,
I’ve planned a home, its just for some
who in their life have followed me
For what I did on Calvary’s tree.
This home has mansions bright and fair
And there’s no parting over there;
The neighbours are the best you’ll get
And all life’s sorrows you’ll forget.”
I like to think that as on earth,
God let us share our temporary berth;
That in our heavenly home above,
We’ll share a mansion in His love.
There’ll be no parting in that day;
That home will be our final stay;
And as on earth together we served,
Together, our home in heaven’s reserved.