SORROW, LESSONS FROM

Until I learned to trust,

I never learned to pray;

And I did not learn to fully trust

Till sorrows came my way.

Until I felt my weakness,

His strength I never knew

Nor dreamed ‘til I was stricken

That he could see me through.

Who deepest drinks of sorrow,

Drinks deepest, too, of grace;

He sends the storm so he himself

Can be our hiding place.

His heart, that seeks our highest—GOOD—

Knows well when things annoy;

We would not long for heaven

If earth held only joy.

William G. Coltman1296

Oh, you tears,

I’m thankful that you run.

Though you trickle in the darkness,

You shall glitter in the sun.

The rainbow could not shine if the rain refused to fall;

And the eyes that cannot weep are the saddest eyes of all.

Charles Mackay1297

I walked a mile with Pleasure;

She chatted all the way,

But left me none the wiser

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow

And ne’er a word said she;

But, oh, the things I learned from her

When Sorrow walked with me!

Robert Browning Hamilton1298