I cannot always see the way that leads
To heights above;
I sometimes quite forget that he leads on
With hands of love;
But yet I know the path must lead me to
Immanuel's land,
And when I reach life's summit I shall know
And understand.
I cannot always trace the onward course
My ship must take,
But, looking backward, I behold afar
Its shining wake
Illumined with God's light of love; and so
I onward go,
In perfect trust that he who holds the helm
The course must know.
I cannot always see the plan on which
He builds my life;
For oft the sound of hammers, blow on blow,
The noise of strife,
Confuse me till I quite forget he knows
And oversees,
And that in all details with his good plan
My life agrees.
I cannot always know and understand
The Master's rule;
I cannot always do the tasks he gives
In life's hard school;
But I am learning, with his help, to solve
Them one by one,
And, when I cannot understand, to say,
"Thy will be done."
--Gertrude Benedict Custis.