Summer Heart

There's frost upon the windowpanes,
The trees are grey and bare,
And icy winds play hide-and-seek
With winter everywhere.
Crisp brown leaves move restlessly,
In ever-changing heaps,
But safe and warm within my heart,
The summer gently sleeps.
And so it is within our lives,
Whose years are like the seasons,
Sometimes sunny . . . sometimes bleak,
The dear Lord has His reasons.
But if we learn to set aside
A little seed or two,
Of happiness, then it will bloom
Long after summer's through.
And if we gather to ourselves
What time cannot destroy,
Every single day we live,
Will hold a bit of joy.
Not in getting, but in giving,
Lies the secret of it all,
Not in wishing or in wanting
What is far beyond recall.
But in using to the fullest,
Every grace that God bestows,
And in trusting to His judgment,
. . . Turns a thorn into a rose.
So no matter what the season,
Or whatever skies above,
It's always summer in the heart,
With room enough for love.
           
                 ~ Grace E. Easley