I Thought I Saw

 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

I thought I saw

By Michael Orr

I thought I saw the rain fall backward

Ascending on high as it filled the expanse

And all of the things both past and present

Were frozen in place and refused to advance

The faces now gone came and sat at my table

Brimming with life and forever made new

As memories still living within my recalling

Restored all at once in this wonderful view

Then those who were present and those who were missing

Sat down at a table too large to be real

With laughter and stories that seemed never ending 

Replacing the loss I recurrently feel

We all sat outside on the porch after supper

And watched as the rain was reversing its spin

Then I watched with surprise as the ones I’d been missing

All said their goodbyes and were gone once again

Yet one took His time as He smiled and nodded

And I knew as He spoke that the Lord was in sight

“The rain will ascend once more my beloved,

And we’ll all meet together in glorious flight.”

I sat on my porch as I pondered what happened

The raindrops descending on earth as before

And I smiled at Heaven for I knew that this moment 

Would come once again and would last ever more.