GOD took the paths we longed in vain to go,
And built a golden street beside a river.
He took the gates Time closed to us below,
And built a portal that shall stand forever.
He took the longings that were vague and dim,
And hedged about by human limitation;
And built a world without a scar or rim
To be our everlasting habitation.
He took the bitter pangs that life has cost;
Transformed them into joy, and song, and wonder.
He took the treasured blessings we have lost,
And planted them beside the waters yonder.
He took our thoughts of hills, and woods, and streams;
And made them real, with added beauty given.
He took the shattered fragments of our dreams,
And built a city fair, and called it Heaven.