Poem ~ If Tomorrow Starts Without Me

Nice Poem

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If Tomorrow Starts Without Me

~ author believed to be David M Romano

If tomorrow starts without me,

And I'm not there to see,

If the sun should rise and find your eyes

all filled with tears for me,

I wish so much you wouldn't cry

The way you did today,

While thinking of the many things,

We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,

As much as I love you,

and each time that you think of me,

I know you'll miss me too.

But if tomorrow starts without me,

Please try to understand,

That an angel came and called my name,

And took me by the hand,

and said my place was ready,

In heaven far above,

And that I'd have to leave behind

All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,

A tear fell from my eye

For all my life, I'd always thought,

I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,

So much left yet to do,

It seemed almost impossible,

That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays

The good ones and the bad,

I thought of all the love we shared,

and all the fun we had

If I could re-live yesterday

Just even for a while,

I'd say good-bye and kiss you

And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,

That this could never be,

For emptiness and memories,

would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,

I might miss come tomorrow,

I thought of you, and when I did,

My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,

I felt so much at home

When God looked down and smiled at me,

From His great golden throne.

He said, "This is eternity,

And all I've promised you."

Today your life on earth is past,

But here life starts anew

I promise no tomorrow,

But today will always last,

And since each day's the same way

There's no longing for the past.

You have been so faithful,

So trusting and so true.

Though there were times

You did some things

You knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven

And now at last you're free.

So won't you come and take my hand

And share my life with me?

So if tomorrow starts without me,

Don't think we're far apart,

For every time you think of me,

I'm right here, in your heart.

Source Link:

http://www.poeticexpressions.co.uk/POEMS/Iftomorrowstartswithoutme.htm

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When Tomorrow Starts Without Me performed by Stephen Meara-Blount

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoPaHxUWA5o

"If Tomorrow Starts Without Me" attributed to David Romano (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMMjAbH_W8c

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I've learnt that ~ death can strike anyone at any time

Hi,

No matter... nevertheless... it's still best to try and stay healthy.

I've learnt that, "This just shows that 
death can strike anyone at any time. 

Somehow, it seems that it doesn't 
matter how fit or healthy you are."

~ Age 46 (in 2013), Sheik Alauddin,

former three-time world champion &

Singapore Silat Federation (SSF) 

chief executive officer

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News Article

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/former-silat-world/780320.html

SINGAPORE

Former silat world champion Abdul Kadir dies

By Safhras Khan and Gerard Wong

POSTED: 17 Aug 2013 4:27 PM

Kadir, who won the Match Male Class 'E' title at the 5th World Championships in Kuala Lumpur in 1997, died on Friday night, aged 40.

SINGAPORE - The Singapore sports community lost a former world champion on Friday night with the sudden death of retired silat exponent Abdul Kadir Ibrahim.

It is understood that the 40-year-old had collapsed after complaining of chest pains. He was running errands with his wife at the time, after going for a jog.

He was buried on Saturday morning and leaves behind six children, the youngest was born just under a month ago.

Kadir won the Match Male Class 'E' title at the 5th World Championships in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. Two years later, he won the gold medal in the same class at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei.

Singapore Silat Federation (SSF) chief executive officer Sheik Alauddin told TODAY that he is still reeling from the news about his friend who worked as a national coach for a few years after retiring from the sport.

"I received a call from a friend yesterday, and I was in disbelief when he told me the news," the 46-year-old former three-time world champion said, with a heavy sigh.

"And then, one by one, I kept getting calls and messages from friends with the same news. It is a very sad day for the Singapore silat family.

"This just shows that death can strike anyone at any time. Somehow, it seems that it doesn't matter how fit or healthy you are."

Former national fencer Nicholas Fang remembers Kadir as "a great sportsman" as well as "a really nice guy." They had travelled to a few editions of the SEA Games together as part of the Singapore contingent during the late 1990s.

"He was a very fierce competitor but off the mat, he was very warm, genuine and always smiling," said Fang who is now the president of Singapore Fencing and a Nominated Member of Parliament.

Sheik said he will meet up with the SSF Council to discuss what forms of support the national sports association can provide for Kadir's family.

-TODAY/ir

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Angel at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001

Someone sent me this story via email.

It's written by Genelle Guzman-McMillan, giving a personal account of what happened.

I did and check on the internet and found it to be true... 

at this website... http://www.snopes.com/rumors/survivor.asp....
I've captured the link in the image below, click on image to enlarge.

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True Short Story

She was the last to be pulled from the rubble on September 11. For her it was a beginning.

Angel at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001

By Genelle Guzman-McMillan, Valley Stream, New York

As appeared in GUIDEPOSTS.

Today I still work for The Port Authority as I did when I clocked in at the World Trade Center at 8:05 that Tuesday morning 10 years ago. But now on September 11, I try to take the day off. I want to be in a quiet, peaceful place praying. It is a day I both mourn and celebrate.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had left the 64th floor of the North Tower earlier and escaped unharmed. What if I hadn't been buried in debris, the ground falling out beneath me at the 13th floor as I was racing to get out of the building? What if I hadn't been stuck under rubble for 27 hours before rescuers finally found me? I would have been grateful, but I wouldn't have looked any deeper at my life. I would have chalked my survival up to quick thinking or quick moving or plain good luck. I would have gone on with my life avoiding God the way I had ever since I lost my mom to cancer in 1999.

Instead I lay there trapped in the dark after the building collapsed, rethinking my life. I ended up doing what my mom would have done. I prayed. Well, it was more like pleading, screaming, promising, asking for some sort of miracle until I pushed my hand through a few inches of rubble above my head and felt someone's warm hand close around mine. Then I heard a male voice say the four sweetest words I have ever heard: "I've got you, Genelle."

I clung as much to his reassuring voice as to his strong hand. "My name is Paul," he said. "You're going to be okay. They're going to get you out soon." The ache in my right leg, the throbbing in my head, faded as I held his hand and listened. "Don't worry, I've got you," Paul said. "They're almost here. Hang on."

Finally I saw a glimmer of light and heard other voices and distant sirens. Two volunteers from Massachusetts, Brian Buchanan and Rick Cushman, found me with the help of a police officer from Canada named James Symington and his search-and-rescue dog Trakr.

"They're here," Paul said. "You're in good hands now. I'm going to go and let them do their jobs and get you out."

I never felt him release me, but soon I was holding someone else's hand — a firefighter's — and talking to my rescuers as they painstakingly removed twisted steel and chunks of concrete from around me and lifted me out. Hundreds of helpers handed me down the pile of rubble to an ambulance. I heard them cheering, and I kept saying Paul's name to myself so I wouldn't forget. I wanted to make sure I thanked him. There were three things I promised God I would do as soon as I got out of the hospital: get baptized, marry my boyfriend Roger and find Paul.

On November 7, after six weeks in the hospital, four surgeries and hours of physical therapy and rehabilitation, I kept the first two promises. Roger and I got married at City Hall in Manhattan that very morning and I was baptized that evening at The Brooklyn Tabernacle.

But Paul? I never found him. Even when a CNN reporter brought me together with my other rescuers, Paul's identity remained a mystery. He wasn't the firefighter who held my hand. That was later when I heard sirens and people began digging me out. Somehow Paul had known my name before I even said a word. Who was he?

I talked to friends about it. I called my pastor and asked him. We spoke about another Paul, the one in the Bible who was totally in the dark, like me, and fought against God until he saw the light. Then we talked about my Paul.

"Genelle," my pastor said, "Paul did not exist in the flesh. You were asking for a miracle and maybe God sent you his angel."

You can see why I celebrate and mourn every September 11. I mourn the loss of so many lives, my friends from work, people who walked down the stairs with me and didn't make it. Yet there is much to be grateful for. My survival — which still fills me with wonder. My health— I walk with a slight limp that most people don't notice. My family — Roger and I and our four children have a good life. Most of all, I celebrate my relationship with God.

People can debate whether Paul was an angel or whether it was just coincidence that I was rescued. I know, though, the strong hand that reached out for mine when I was buried alive, the reassuring voice I heard when I cried out for help. Someone called me by name and I have never been the same. 

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Prayer For Those Who Mourn

Heavenly Father... recently... I noticed you've call many home to you. Please comfort those who mourn for the lost of their loved ones. Thanks to the teachings of Your Son, Jesus... many of us know that our loved ones are going to a better place... but we really miss them... for they have been a big part of our lives and now there is an emptiness that brings pain to our hearts whenever we remember them. Help us bear this pain, meant for our loved ones, with the same passion that Your Son, Jesus, had when he bore his pain willingly for us. Amen.

Condolence Phrases

Useful phrases you can use. Courtesy of this website link.

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Condolence Phrases

http://www.condolencephrases.net/

Feel free to use our condolence phrases and other sympathy information to help those you love at their time of grief. Comforting in a time of loss is something we all wish would come easily. Unfortunately with our own emotions jumbled in the process, it is sometimes hard to find the right words. 

Our heartfelt condolences go out to you and your family.

Our thoughts are with you.

You have our deepest sympathy.

With deepest sympathies.

You have my sincere sympathy.

He/She will always live on in our hearts.

Thinking of you in your time of loss.

She/he was a lot of things to many people and will be missed tremendously.

You are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

May your strength prevail to help you through this difficult time.

Our deepest sympathies are with you in your time of need.

May your memories be your comfort.

We are very saddened to hear of your loss.

During this excruciating time, we want you to know we are here for you.

Words cannot express how sorry we are to hear of your loss.

In your time of need, we hope you know we will always be there for you.

May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten.

Click HERE for more.

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