Go Rest High On That Mountain

I know your life on earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren’t afraid to face the Devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Vince Gill started this song when his friend, Keith Whitley died of alcoholism; he finished it when his brother, Bob, committed suicide a few years later. This tribute to Keith and Bob is used in funeral services throughout the world…

I identify with a song about troubled lives, facing death and the grief of those who remain.

Over the years I’ve avoided thinking about death. In recent weeks I’ve talked with good friends about power of attorney, end of life plans, writing wills, palliative care, funeral plans, living with bereavement… They’re not easy conversations, but important ones that need to be open and fear-less…

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered round your grave to grieve
Wish I could see the angels’ faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

This is a positive song of hope. It’s of a much, much better future, imagining the unknown beyond death in pictures… crossing a river, streets of gold… here it’s the high mountain, of resting after completing work on earth.

It’s a song of faith, of being sure of what we don’t yet see. Of a heaven that’s there and worth going to, of Father God who has a plan and his Son Jesus who’s waiting for us… and as I get closer I’m less sure of the details but more sure that it’s true

It’s a song of love. There’s Gill’s love for his friend and brother that continues through death; there’s also a God who’s loved me in life and through death… I love the picture that I’ll ‘go to heaven a-shoutin’  my love for my God…

Go rest high on that mountain
Son your work on earth is done
Go to Heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son