The Setting Sun of Strife (Draft)

I had an amazing childhood. My grandparents lived in Florida—a magical place filled with sunshine, sand, and so many adventures.  My grandparents, Nan and Papa, lived in a beautiful Southern home.  That home is the setting of so many fond memories.  Papa was a traditional Southern cowboy.  He talked slow but he was anything but slow.  He was brilliant and if you had the patience to listen he could teach you a great deal.  Nan was a doting Southern grandma.  She loved to cook for us, swing with us on the porch, and take us on adventures.  During the summer months, my parents let us visit Nan and Papa for a week all by ourselves.  It was amazing.  They had cattle and a huge yard complete with a tire swing and barn.  I can still smell the bacon frying and taste the chicken strips Nan would make us for lunch.  My grandparents were kind, loving, and selfless. Though they were not members of the LDS church like we were, they often fed the young missionaries that happened to knock on their screen door. 

One of my fondest memories of my Nan is the summer we stayed with her at the beach.  We slept with the sliding doors open and slumbered to the mesmerizing sound of the waves crashing on the shore.  One night we even got out our flashlights and searched for sea turtles coming to shore to lay their eggs.  We collected sand dollars and built sand castles. We ran in the sun until our faces were covered with freckles. Nan was our mother hen that summer.  She loved my siblings and I unconditionally.  She provided us with so many happy memories.

 My Papa passed away while I was in high school after a long fight with emphysema and cancer.  With his passing, my Nan came to live on our side of town.  After a while, her memories began to fade.  My sweet Nan began to fade.  She put on a brave face and tried to fight it for a long time but eventually she passed to the other side.

She left us on a Mother’s Day.  I’ll never forget that day as long as I live.  I was heart-broken that my own children would never know her like I did.  I hated that they would have no memories that included her home, her warmth, her light.  They would never know her cooking, her laugh, or her smile.  A part of me, of who I was and what had shaped me, was gone. 

I began to seek solace in the scriptures.  I longed to feel the comfort I felt on her porch.  I was angry that we didn’t have more time together.  I wanted more.  I was childish and selfish.  And then I found something that changed my entire perspective.  Let Peace then Still the Strife is a song performed by the Mormon Tabernacle choir with lyrics written by David Warner and music by Mack Wilberg.  While the music is incredible, the poetry of the words is what truly stirred my soul.

Let peace then still the strife, 
The loneliness and grief,
Come heal the piercing silence of passing. 

I was longing for peace.  I felt all the emotions that David Warner was describing. His use of the words “piercing silence” were vivid and clear.  The passing of a loved one does indeed leave many shrouded in silence.

And sweet familiar strains,

The voices lost in death,

Arise in songs of hope everlasting.

Then let the voices roll

As waves upon the sea,

Come forth and break upon us, refreshing.

Warner’s use of imagery here is overwhelming.  He describes the voices of the dead as familiar and hopeful.  The comparison of their voices as waves that crash upon us and refresh us was so relatable to me.  It took me back to the summer at the beach and I could feel the sand disappearing under my toes as the ocean demanded the waves return from where they came.

For hearts rent wide at death,

Unfolded to our dead,

Hear singing from beyond sunlight's setting.

Then sing, beloved ones,

Reach o'er the summer sea.

Pour forth thy boundless love for us living!

The use of gerunds such as “setting” and “everlasting” give us the sense of progression.  The author could have chosen words that had a definite ending but the fact that he did not suggests a continuance of life.  Death is not the end.

Then sing, beloved ones,

Reach o'er the summer sea.

Florida summer seas are my favorite!

Pour forth thy boundless love for us living!

Sweep into ev'ry soul,

Make music of our tears,

Turn all our songs to joy and thanksgiving!

And when we silent pass,

From far across the sea

Let praises ring for life's wond'rous blessing.

This life is a journey, but so is death.  We leave one shore just to arrive at a different one.  Warner compares love to water.  He describes it as being poured upon us by our ancestors. This fantastic imagery is successful because all of us can relate to it.  We all have experiences with water so we can all apply this image to our lives.

Then sing ye living souls!

Sing generations past,

Swell high the tide of life, us refreshing!

Sing forth as with one voice,

Bear silent grief away,

Resound with peace and hope everlasting!

Again, the use of progressive words gave me the sense that life was not over.  Death is not the end of life.  As I witnessed my grandma sail away across the sea of death I could almost imagine the scene on the opposite shore.  It was a marvelous party, one fit for a Southern queen.  I could imagine her mother, with tears in her eyes, embracing the daughter she’d missed for so long.  I could almost see my grandpa sauntering over to his love and welcoming her to eternity. 

And all who wait and sing

Sing on from earth and heav'n

And make our crossing forth joyful passing!