My Jesus walks beside me death is defeated by His name
Words paint pictures
Wrestling on a page.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Thoughts seem to bubble
Theology unfolds.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Tears tell of sorrow
Truth wrapped up in pain.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Memories are history
Moments set in time.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Eternity lasts forever
Eventualities arise.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Pain is for a moment
Perhaps it's just as well.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
Soon we will be together
Side by side again.
My Jesus walks beside me
Death is defeated by His name.
In memory of Ruth
copyright Revdjo 21/5/2013
Ruth Doreen Bailes (7/11/29-28/4/13)
I have known Ruth since I was a teenager but it was not until the last ten years, or so, that I really got to know her well. She was one of my most trusted friends. Last year she made the journey from Stroud to Burton on the train to see me, not many 82 year-old ladies would attempt that! On learning of her sudden death my immediate reaction was at least she didn't suffer that much and stayed in her own home, continuing to do the Lord's work right up until the last minute. I was surprised by the depth of my feelings just prior to her funeral as it dawned on me just how good a friend she was and how much I would miss her. God seemed to remind me of that in the voice of Elizabeth, who I don't know very well, as she sat next to me with the words, 'Can I sit next to you and be your friend.' Just in case I needed any more reinforcement, a reminder from God via Ruth's hymn choice, What a friend we have in Jesus.
Ruth was forever the student of the Gospel and forever the teacher. She had taught both secondary and infant school children in her day. Her zeal for the doing God's work amazed me. If you want to have a look it can be found here:
www.tracts.com/Goodnewsletter.html
www.tracts.com/Textmessages.html
www.tracts.com/CWP.Home.html
www.tracts.com/CHOICES4U.html
I will miss my praying friend and her humorous ways; it always took Ruth an age to make the tea and offer you a biscuit that you weren't allowed to take a bite of until she had said grace. At her funeral I was struck by the last verses of the hymns she chose. I have listed them in order bellow. Ruth had no doubt she was going to meet her Lord. Even after her death she continues to remind firstly, where she was going and secondly, for us to take our burdens and prayers to God. The God who continues to walk with us in the valleys when we are sad as much as he walks with us when we are feeling joyful and on top of the world.
Great things He hath taught us,
great things He hath done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son:
but purer and higher and greater will be
our wonder, our worship, when Jesus we see!
To God be the glory! by F J Crosby and W H Doane
When I stand in glory
I will see your face.
And there I'll serve my King forever,
on that Holy Place
There is a Redeemer by Keith Green
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge,
take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He'll take and shield thee,
thou wilt find a solace there.
What a Friend we have in Jesus by J M Scriven
Green pastures are before me,
which I have not seen;
bright skies will soon be o'er me,
where darkness clouds have been;
my hope I cannot measure,
my path to life is free;
My Saviour has my treasure,
and He will walk with me.
In Heavenly Love Abiding by A L Waring
I sit and stare 
I have recently come back from a long awaited holiday in Corfu. The area my husband and I stayed at was called Canal D'Amour, Sadari, it was indeed love at first sight. Such a beautiful place to be. Having been to Corfu before and driven around the island (including three laps of a round-about in Corfu town) we decided just to chill by the swimming pool all week. It was as they say a dogs life. This little friend joined me one morning and then scampered away again following the crowd. It is so easy to follow the crowd and get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to stop and listen to God. Even God rested on the seventh day and if he needs a rest so do we (Gen 2:2).
I like to read but of late have struggled to find the time to read just for me rather than books I have to read to complete an essay. It's been nice to be able to relax and read what I want. Two of the books I enjoyed, I read more, were David Walliam's Camp David and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Walliam's autobiography is a very honest account of his life and things that have made him who he is today. We are all molded by our past but not many of us would want to put those painful moments in black and white and share them with the world. But perhaps we should be willing to share more of the things that make us who we are? Perhaps we should be more willing to share how the Spirit of God has changed our lives with those that don't know God?
I wonder what ought.
When I can't sleep I tend to write. I am naturally a night owl and feel more creative at night. Having recently come back from a holiday in Corfu full of late nights my body clock is completely out of sync. Tonight I watched the film insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams. Pacino's character is a cop tying to solve a murder investigation that takes him to Alaska. Alaska has long daylight hours in the summer that extend into the night making sleep difficult. Pacino's character can't cope with this and goes around in a daze because of lack of sleep from insomnia. I go through stages of having difficulty sleeping. It's fine when I get there but drifting off is not always easy. I can't sleep without blackout blinds and complete silence. Ticking clocks are banned, snoring husbands are often jabbed in the side, and noisy neighbours exterminated. OK, well maybe not the last one but you get the drift. I call my preferred sleep pattern 'Jo time' which means sleeping about 2.00am and waking about 9.00am. I have been on extended Jo time which is fine for holidays and essay writing (I finished my last essay required for my Baptist minister accreditation recently) but not good now that I am back at work. Last night was my worse night sleep, if you can call it that, for a long time. When I was at college facing an essay deadline I would stay up all night writing, I wrote better and faster at night than in the morning, it made good sense to me. My husband is a lark and goes to work very early. He would be going to work and I would just be going to bed about 5.00am. We still laugh about that. This morning he was surprised to find me wide awake at 4.30am when he was leaving for working. Somewhat dazed from lack of sleep and extremely overtired but happily writing silly poems. 
I have known Ruth since I was a teenager but it was not until the last ten years, or so, that I really got to know her well. She was one of my most trusted friends. Last year she made the journey from Stroud to Burton on the train to see me, not many 82 year-old ladies would attempt that! On learning of her sudden death my immediate reaction was at least she didn't suffer that much and stayed in her own home, continuing to do the Lord's work right up until the last minute. I was surprised by the depth of my feelings just prior to her funeral as it dawned on me just how good a friend she was and how much I would miss her. God seemed to remind me of that in the voice of Elizabeth, who I don't know very well, as she sat next to me with the words, 'Can I sit next to you and be your friend.' Just in case I needed any more reinforcement, a reminder from God via Ruth's hymn choice, What a friend we have in Jesus. 
