Pass Through And Carry On

Lenten Roses Blooming In The Snow

CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD

Christina Rossetti
(1830-1894)

Flowers preach to is if we will hear-

The rose saith in the dewy morn:

I am most fair;

Yet all my loveliness is born

Upon a thorn.

The poppy saith amid the corn:

Let but my scarlet head appear

Am I held in scorn;

Yet juice of subtle virtue lies

With my cup of curious dyes.

The lilies say: Behold how we

Preach without words of purity

The violets whisper from the shade

Which their own leaves have made:

Men scent our fragrance on the air,

Yet take no heed

Of humble lessons we would read.

But not alone the fairest flowers:

The merest grass

Along the roadside where we pass,

Lichen and moss and sturdy weed,

Tell of His Love who sends the dew,

The rain and sunshine too,

To nourish one small seed.

The birds of the air finding food and rest in the snow

FAITH IS A MIGHTY  FORTRESS

 Helen Steiner Rice

(1900-1981)

We look ahead through each changing year

With mixed emotions of hope and fear-

Hope for the peace we long have sought,

Fear that our hopes will come to naught.

Unwilling to trust in the Father's will,

We count on our logic and shallow skill,

And in our arrogance and pride,

We are no longer satisfied.

To place our confidence and love

With childlike faith in God above.

And tiny hands and tousled heads

That kneel in prayer by little beds

Are closer to the dear Lord's heart

And of His kingdom more a part.

Than we who search and never find

the answers to our questioning minds-

For faith in things we cannot see

Requires a child's simplicity

Oh, Heavenly Father, grant again

A simple childlike faith to men,

Forgetting color, race, and creed

And seeing only the heart's deep need.

For faith alone can save man's soul

And lead him to a higher goal,

For there's but one unfailing course-

We win by faith and not by force.

PASSING THROUGH

Annie Johnson Flint

(1866-1932)

When Thou passest through the waters,"

Deep the waves may be and cold,

But JEHOVAH is our Refuge

And His promise is our hold:

For the LORD Himself hath said it,

He the faithful God and true:

"When thou comest to the waters,

Thou shalt not go down, but through

Seas of sorrow, seas of trial,

Bitter anguish, fiercest pain,

Rolling surges of temptation,

Sweeping over heart and brain,

They shall never overflow us,

For we know His word is true:

All His waves and all His billows

He will lead us safely through.

Threatening breakers of destruction,

Doubt's insidious underflow,

Shall not sink us, shall not drag us

Out to ocean depths of woe.

For His promise shall sustain us,

Praise the LORD, Whose word is true!

We shall not go down or under,

He hath said, "Thou passest through."

"Nor'easter"

(1895)

 Winslow Homer

(1836-1910)

"Fear not, there is nothing to fear, for I am with you;

do not look around you in terror and be dismayed,
 for I am your God.

I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties,
 yes, I will help you;

yes, I will hold you up and retain you
 with My victorious right hand

of rightness and justice."

Isaiah 41:10