Comfort

Dear child of God, by sorrow crushed,

May this your comfort be;

The Lord is ruling over all,—

He loves and cares for thee.

Though Satan seek to buffet sore,

He bows at God's command;

He cannot touch nor harm thee

when God says, "Stay now thine hand."

The One who shed His precious blood

To set the sinner free;

With that same matchless love untold

Is watching over thee.

The Lord who stretched the heavens forth

The earth's foundation laid,—

With that same power He guards His child

And says "Be not afraid."

For "God is faithful"—blessed Word!

Temptation, fear, or snare,

He never will allow one test

Above that ye can bear.

The trial and testing He allows,

By love and wisdom planned,—

When His own purpose is fulfilled

He speaks —"Stay now thine hand."

The pathway may seem rough and steep,

You'll feel His presence near,

You'll hear the precious Shepherd's voice,

" 'Tis I, child, never fear."

Then trust His love,—keep looking up,

On Jesus fix thy gaze;

The way He leads will give thee cause

For everlasting praise.

In glory we will give Him praise

For all the way He led;

Then we will understand His ways,

But here, we trust instead.

-Lois Beckwith

In loving memory of two special people whose lives ended very differently this weekend. One, our former son-in-law and daddy to our firstborn grandchild. He lost his way and believed it best to end the struggle. Our hearts grieve for the pain and despair he felt. The other, my sweetheart's dear cousin who lost her brief, rapid battle with cancer just a few days after she learned of her illness. Our lives have been touched once again by the loss of someone who held a place in our hearts. Once again we find comfort in the Father's arms.