The Rose Still Grows Beyond the Wall

Near a shady wall a rose once grew,
   Budded and blossomed in God's free light,
Watered and fed by morning dew,
   Shedding its sweetness day and night.

As it grew and blossomed fair and tall,
   Slowly rising to loftier height,
It came to a crevice in the wall,
   Through which there shone a beam of light.

Onward it crept with added strength,
   With never a thought of fear or pride.
It followed the light through the crevice's length
   And unfolded itself on the other side.

The light, the dew, the broadening view
   Were found the same as they were before;
And it lost itself in beauties new,
   Breathing its fragrance more and more.

Shall claim of death cause us to grieve,
   And make our courage faint or fail?
Nay! Let us faith and hope receive:
   The rose still grows beyond the wall.

Scattering fragrance far and wide,
   Just as it did in days of yore,
Just as it did on the other side,
   Just as it will for evermore.

        ~ A. L. Frink

Three Lessons

There are three lessons I would write--
   Three words as with a burning pen,
In tracings of eternal light,
   Upon the hearts of men.

Have Hope. Though clouds environ now,
   And gladness hides her face in scorn,
Put thou the shadow from thy brow--
   No night but hath its morn.

Have Faith. Where'er thy bark is driven--
   The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth--
Know this: God rules the host of heaven,
   The inhabitants of earth.

Have Love. Not love alone for one,
   But man as man thy brother call;
And scatter like the circling sun
   Thy charities on all.

Thus grave these lessons on thy soul--
   Faith, Hope, and Love--and thou shalt
      find
Strength when life's surges rudest roll,
   Light when thou else wert blind.

~Johann Christopher Friedrich von Schiller

Song of Life

A traveler on a dusty road
Strewed acorns on the lea;
And one took root and sprouted up,
And grew into a tree.
Love sought its shade at evening time,
To breathe its early vows;
And Age was pleased, in heights of noon,
To bask beneath its boughs.
The dormouse loved its dangling twigs,
The birds sweet music bore--
It stood a glory in its place,
A blessing evermore.

A little spring had lost its way
Amid the grass and fern;
A passing stranger scooped a well
Where weary men might turn.
He walled it in, and hung with care
A ladle on the brink;
He thought not of the deed he did,
But judged that Toil might drink.
He passed again; and lo! The well,
By summer never dried,
Had cooled ten thousand parched tongues,
And saved a life beside.

A nameless man, amid the crowd
That thronged the daily mart,
Let fall a word of hope and love,
Unstudied from the heart,
A whisper of the tumult thrown,
A transitory breath,
It raised a brother from the dust,
It saved a soul from death.
O germ! O fount! O word of love!
O thought at random cast!
Ye were but little at the first,
But mighty at the last.

--Charles MacKay

Need An Anchor?

Life is full of distractions, as I'm sure you're well aware! It seems like every moment of the day a myriad of things are competing for our attention. This makes us extremely vulnerable to becoming adrift on life's sea.

In times such as these we need an anchor that will hold, and keep us from drifting aimlessly through life--utterly frustrated and defeated.

God's word speaks to this in Hebrews 6:18,19 where we read: "...we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast..."

Hope in God is our anchor in the storms of life. This Greek word 'hope' (elpis), does not mean empty, wisfhul thinking, but rather a confident expectation of an unseen reality.

I would like to share the words of an old song which drive this point home:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.

When our eyes behold through the gathering night,
The city of gold, our harbor bright,
We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore,
With the storms all past forevermore.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.

We Have An Anchor, by Priscilla J. Owens

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again
to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled
and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who
are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready
to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5

Trust in God as the Anchor for your soul!

Blessings