HAL M. HELMS
ECHOES of ETERNITY
VOLUME II
PARACLETE PRESS
BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
2019 Seventh Printing
Echoes of Eternity: Listening to the Father Volume II
Copyright © 1998, 2011 by The Community of Jesus, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-55725-206-7
Unless otherwise designated, Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations designated (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) are trademarks of Paraclete Press, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Echoes of eternity: listening to the Father.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-55725-206-8 (alk. paper)
1. Devotional calendars. I. Paraclete Press.
BV4810.E24 1996
242’.2—dc20 96-24801
10 9 8 7
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published by Paraclete Press
Brewster, Massachusetts
Printed in China
Contents
Introduction
On August 15, 1997, just one week before our fifty-fifth wedding anniversary, the Lord had need of my husband Hal and called him home. His death was not totally unexpected, for he had been gravely ill for several years, but its time and manner were a surprise. Hal was in the hospital awaiting gall bladder surgery when he took a drastic turn for the worse and suddenly died.
Nine months have now passed, and I find I miss Hal more and more as time goes on. But grace has been abundant, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t bring him back for anything. Death and the grave are past, and Hal has been mercifully delivered from the pain he lived with constantly for years. I identify with King David who said, on the death of his son, “He will not return to me but I will go to him.”
A few months after Hal’s death, his spiritual director and his editor asked me if I would put together a second volume of Echoes of Eternity. Indeed, Hal had wanted to compile a second volume but had not had the time. As I began to work with these messages I found that Jesus was using them to bless and comfort me in my grief. The personal nature of some of the words prevents them from being made public, so with this second volume, we have now exhausted the messages Hal recorded in his journals and treasured as he faithfully kept his early morning appointments with the Lord.
I know many readers have been blessed and uplifted by the first volume of Echoes of Eternity. I trust you will find Echoes of Eternity, Volume II a support for your faith and an encouragement in your daily walk with Jesus. God bless you, and may your life be lived with joy and zest until you take up residence in your Heavenly home.
Helen HelmsApril 22, 1998
JANUARY
Morning has broken like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning
Born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s re-creation of the new day!
Eleanor Farjeon, 1881–1965
January First
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings.
