How to not cry at "The Road Home" by Stephen Paulus?

My choir is singing this at MPA (competition for FL choirs), and my choral director doesn't want me crying on stage, but it's hard to because it makes me think of a very close friend of mine that I love so much and that I want to see her and not want her to leave the ground she's standing on.

So, the question is, how can I not cry on stage while singing that song? It's so emotional that it's too hard to not even shed a single tear.