My Lord, You have set me upon the path toward the better country. The life I live is but a stepping stone to the place where life truly begins. Let my heart meditate on heaven’s promise when the shadows of woe conceal my view, enticing me to believe there is nothing but a gloomy valley up ahead. Fix the compass of my soul to point in the direction of my Father’s house. Though You call me to depart from all I know and love here, my mind can hardly fathom the richness of dwelling within the fullness of Your love. My soul can scarcely grasp the union which Your grace has purchased for me because I have yet to be in the place where I belong. While I await the final removal, Lord, my God, be ever near me, defending me from the onslaught of fear. Let my soul welcome Your summons. Under the beauty and authority of the Name of Christ and the Word as revealed in 1 Corinthians 2:9, I pray.

But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
1 Corinthians 2:9, ESV