He spoke of going to the Father,

And sorrow filled the room.

No one asked him, "Whither?"

Grief had answered far too soon.

Yet loss was not the whole road;

Departure served a plan:

The Comforter would come to them

When Jesus left their hands.

The Spirit would expose the world:

Its unbelief as sin,

The righteousness of Jesus

When the Father welcomed him,

The judgment of the prince

Whose rule already stood condemned.

Truth would not be orphaned

When the visible presence went.

A little while,

And they would not see.

A little while,

And sight would be.

The saying circled through them,

Too hard for them to hold:

A little while of sorrow,

Then sorrow turned to joy.

More truth remained before them,

More than they could bear that night.

The Spirit would not speak alone,

But guide them into truth.

He would glorify the Son,

Receive what heaven gave,

And show the things approaching

When memory had to stay.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy,

Like labor ending when a child is born.

The pain is real, the hour is hard,

But joy will rise beyond the storm.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy,

And no man takes that joy away.

The little while will not be endless;

Morning follows grief's dark day.

The world would laugh while they would weep;

Their tears would not be vain.

The same event that pleased the world

Would open life beyond the pain.

Then asking in his name

Would find the Father's willing ear;

The Father loved them truly

Because they loved and trusted too.

He came forth from the Father,

Entered the world below;

He left the world and went again

To the Father whence he came.

"Now we understand," they answered,

"Now we know that thou knowest all."

But confidence would scatter

Before the garden call.

Each man would run to his own place,

And leave him standing lone;

Yet never truly left alone,

The Father would remain.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy,

Though tribulation fills the world.

Peace is found within the Son,

Not in the safety of the hour.

Your sorrow shall be turned into joy,

Let courage answer what is heard.

He told them, "Be of good cheer,"

For he had overcome the world.

A faithful Father.

Peace before the storm.