Life is a highway on which the years go by,
Sometimes the road is level,
sometimes the hills are high.
But as we travel onward to
a future that’s unknown,
We can make each mile we travel
a heavenly stepping stone!
If wishes worked like magic
and plans worked that way, too,
And if everything you wished for,
whether good or bad for you,
Immediately were granted with
no effort on your part,
You’d experience no fulfillment
of your spirit or your heart.
For things achieved too easily
lose their charm and meaning, too,
For it is life’s difficulties and
the trial times we go through
That make us strong in spirit
and endow us with the will
To surmount the insurmountable
and to climb the highest hill.
So wish not for the easy way
to win your heart’s desire,
For the joy’s in overcoming
and withstanding flood and fire,
For to triumph over trouble
and grow stronger with defeat
Is to win the kind of victory
that will make your life complete.
We all have cares and problems
we cannot solve alone,
But if we go to God in prayer,
we are never on our own,
And no day is unmeetable if
on rising, our first thought
Is to thank God for the blessings
that His loving care has brought,
For there can be no failures
or hopeless, unsaved sinners
If we enlist the help of God,
who makes all losers winners …
So meet Him in the morning
and go with Him through the day
And thank Him for His guidance
each evening when you pray,
And if you follow faithfully this daily way to pray,
You will never in your lifetime
face another hopeless day …
For like a soaring eagle, you, too, can rise above
The storms of life around you on
the wings of prayer and love.
Cheerful thoughts like sunbeams
lighten up the darkest fears,
For when the heart is happy
there’s just no time for tears,
And when the face is smiling
it’s impossible to frown,
And when you are high-spirited
you cannot feel low-down …
For the nature of our attitudes
toward circumstantial things
Determines our acceptance of
the problems that life brings,
And since fear and dread and
worry cannot help in any way,
It’s much healthier and happier
to be cheerful every day …
And if you’ll only try it, you will find,
without a doubt,
A cheerful attitude’s something
no one should be without,
For when the heart is cheerful,
it cannot be filled with fear,
And without fear, the way ahead
seems more distinct and clear,
And we realize there’s nothing
that we must face alone,
For our heavenly Father loves us,
and our problems are His own.
Our Father knows what’s best for us,
So why should we complain—
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain—
We love the sound of laughter
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear …
So whenever we are troubled
And life has lost its song
It’s God testing us with burdens
Just to make our spirit strong!
We cannot all be famous or be
listed in “Who’s Who,”
But every person, great or small,
has important work to do …
For seldom do we realize the
importance of small deeds
Or to what degree of greatness
unnoticed kindness leads …
So do not sit and idly wish
for wider, new dimensions
Where you can put in practice
your many good intentions,
But at the spot God placed you,
begin at once to do
Little things to brighten up
the lives surrounding you …
For if everybody brightened up the
spot on which they’re standing
By being more considerate and
a little less demanding,
This dark old world would very
soon eclipse the evening star
If everybody brightened up the
corner where they are.
We feel so sad when those we love
Are called to live in the home above,
But why should we grieve when they say good-bye
And go to dwell in a cloudless sky?
For they have but gone to prepare the way,
And we’ll meet them again some happy day,
For God has told us that nothing can sever
A life He created to live forever.
So let God’s promise soften our sorrow
And give us new strength for a brighter tomorrow.
How little we know what God has in store
As daily He blesses our lives more and more.
I’ve lived many years and I’ve learned many things,
But today I have grown new spiritual wings …
For pain has a way of broadening our view
And bringing us closer in sympathy, too,
To those who are living in constant pain
And trying somehow to bravely sustain
The faith and endurance to keep on trying
When they almost welcome the peace of dying …
Without this experience I would have lived and died
Without fathoming the pain of Christ crucified,
For none of us knows what pain is all about
Until our spiritual wings start to sprout.
So thank You, God, for the gift You sent
To teach me that pain’s heaven-sent.
Out of life’s misery born of man’s sins,
A fuller, richer life begins,
For when we are helpless with no place to go
And our hearts are heavy and our spirits are low,
If we place our lives in God’s hands
And surrender completely to His will and demands,
The darkness lifts and the sun shines through,
And by His touch we are born anew.
So praise God for trouble that cuts like a knife
And disappointments that shatter your life,
For with patience to wait and faith to endure,
Your life will be blessed and your future secure,
For God is but testing your faith and your love
Before He appoints you to rise far above
All the small things that so sorely distress you,
For God’s only intention is to
strengthen and bless you.
When dark days come—and they come to us all—
We feel so helpless and lost and small.
We cannot fathom the reason why,
And it is futile for us to try
To find the answer, the reason or cause,
For the master plan is without any flaws.
And when the darkness shuts out the light,
We must lean on faith to restore our sight,
For there is nothing we need know
If we have faith that wherever we go
God will be there to help us to bear
Our disappointments, pain, and care.
For He is our shepherd, our Father, our Guide,
And you’re never alone with the Lord at your side.
So may the great Physician attend you,
And may His healing completely mend you.
Have you ever been caught in
a web you didn’t weave,
Involved in conditions that are hard to believe?
Have you ever felt you must speak
and explain and deny
A story that’s groundless or a small, whispered lie?
Have you ever heard rumors
you would like to refute
Or some telltale gossip you would like to dispute?
Well, don’t be upset, for God knows the score,
And with God as your judge you
need worry no more.
For men may misjudge you, but God’s verdict is fair,
For He looks deep inside and is deeply aware
Of every small detail in your pattern of living,
And always He’s fair and lenient and forgiving,
And knowing that God is your
judge and your jury
Frees you completely from
man’s falseness and fury.
And secure in this knowledge,
let your thoughts rise above
Man’s small, shallow judgments
that are so empty of
God’s goodness and greatness in judging men,
And forget ugly rumors and be happy again.
God, be my resting place and my protection
In hours of trouble, defeat, and dejection.
May I never give way to self-pity and sorrow,
May I always be sure of a better tomorrow,
May I stand undaunted come what may,
Secure in the knowledge I have only to pray
And ask my Creator and Father above
To keep me serene in His grace and His love.