Life Is Poetry Waiting to Be Tasted -Day 14 (write a temporary poem)

PAD/poem-a-day Chapbook Challenge-Day 14

Write a temporary poem...

2 Cor.4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This soon shall die, like leaves that lie where autumn glory yields its crown...

This too shall pass; the hourglass through which the mists of Time dissolve

Leave in the wake of give and take the verge of surges to evolve

Where no hand staves the welkin waves above the graves of Bygone flung

 As seasons turn, as live-and-learn startles students, both old and young

This too shall fade, like daybreak weighed with hues that roll the dark away

Where an Unseen Veil wafts between The Great Unknown and light of day 

This, by God's grace, for who could face the whole of living's unveiled road

What holy waste, as touch and taste would stagger beneath morrow's load 

This soon shall die, like leaves that lie where autumn glory yields its crown

Laughter and tears are borne on spheres that drift away like thistledown 

The pleasure of The Thing we love soon loses its luster because

We cannot keep the scenes that sweep from What Will Be to That Which Was  

This too shall mold its new to old; for nothing new stays new for long

The virgin dawn is hinged upon echoes and bars of Yester-song

Bitter and sweet alike will meet with 'Such-is-Life's opposing tide

In light of this, let's take What Is in faith, hope and love's steadied stride 

Because this too will soon pass through the hourglass of Now and Here

Mortality will shortly be exchanged for more than dust-veneer 

The orb of Time, soon snuffed of chiming clock's moment-by-moment toll

This too shall pass; like shattered glass the body will give way to Soul 

Janet Martin

Life is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted-Day 13 (write a luck poem)

PAD/poem-a-day Chapbook Challenge-Day 13-

For today’s prompt, write a luck poem.

Ps.118:8

It is better to trust in the LORD 

Than to put confidence in man.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms • T4G Live IV [Official Lyric Video]

If luck were life's best fortune what cold comfort it would be

To cross our fingers in a leap of serendipity 

To wish upon a star as if the stars could do a thing

 And humankind were nothing but Fate's puppets on a string 

If we were at the mercy of nothing but random chance 

What merit then, goodness and love and all blessing God grants

If faith and hope were pawns, by Luck's cunning sleight of hand set 

And life was but a gamble of celestial roulette

If luck replaced God's sovereignty, life would be hell on earth

And love would be a god unto itself, lacking true worth

A rabbit's foot or clover leaf could well fortify/satisfy fools 

If we were Fate's mean, magic trick of mystic molecules

But we are at the kind mercy of God, able to keep

Far better He than some baseless, serendipitous leap

Far better than a lucky charm is He who knows our needs

And in spite of what some may say, His goodness intercedes 

Janet Martin

Faith and Fate are polar opposites;

one believes in the sovereignty of God,

the other in poor, pathetic, powerless Luck

Faith conquers fear,

Fate fosters fear

Faith seeks/trusts God

Fate seeks/serves self 

Faith finds peace for the soul

Fate is a wanderer without hope's glad Goal

Faith is founded on the Rock of salvation

Fate flounders in a sea of uncertainties

Luck leaves hearts disillusioned.

Blessing keeps hearts thankful!

Jude 24-25

Now to Him who is able to keep [a]you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

 To [b]God our Savior,

[c]Who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and [d]power,

Both now and forever.

Amen.

Rock of Ages

Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted-Day 12 (write a strange poem)

PAD prompt; day 12 --For today’s prompt, write a strange poem.

Something a little out of the ordinary, or something a lot out of the norm.

These prompts are always a stretch for this practical Poet 😁😅

Str-e-e-etch, stre-e-e-tch the reaches of the mind

And scale Thought's practicality

Let metabolic movement grind

The gears of rusted poetry

Press, push, and pull with mental grit

Pursue It with tenacity

Slow if you must but. do. not. quit

The aerobics of poetry 

Get out of Habit's comfort zone

Let the creative juices drip

While you attempt to whet and hone

Poetic edges you let slip

Leap with fearless finesse and form

Dare mental heights with lyric-chase

Attempt fetes, foreign to the norm 

Even if you fall on your face

So, Here goes...

The Rose, 

dew-glistening 

and red

I suppose,

looks kinda

like my head

After cardio

or HIIT event

The biggest Difference

is

the scent

***

Strange, how the older that I grow

The less and less I seem to know

And what I've known since I was young

Might slip my mind 

at the tip of my tongue

***

I put it in a special spot

So I could find it when I must

But now, after I've thought and thought

That spot has gathered wool and dust

And I can't for the life of me

Remember where that spot should be

***

That's all, folks!

Thank-you 😂💪

Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted-Day 11

Day 11- For today’s prompt, write a portrait poem.

Though life is 'poetry' waiting to be tasted,

there's a prevailing element we cannot afford to ignore or miss!

Ah, light of day

Ah, light of day

You drive the dark of night away

Silver and gold, purple and rose

The Artist's palette overflows

From heaven to earth rolls a sea

As hope's unbridled majesty

Unveils from pedestals above 

A portrait of enduring love 

Then rise and shine,

Then rise and shine

What privilege is yours and mine

For, in the portrait of God's love

If we study it close enough

What utter inclusion we find

Not one of us is left behind

In each new portrait He sets free

Ah, there is you and there is me

Forbid we rush

Forbid we rush

Without a glance at God's paintbrush

Without a second thought of He

Who never forgets you and me

But in each portrait He unfurls

He includes all his boys and girls

Then pray that we take time enough

To thank the Artist for His love

For light of day

For light of day

To drive the dark of night away

To unveil dawn's untainted pose

In silver, gold, purple and rose 

For each Original set free

Ah, there is you and there is me

Not one single person forgot

In each portrait by God's love wrought 

Janet Martin

Life Is Poetry Waiting to Be Tasted (Days 8, 9 & 10)

PAD Challenge: Day 8-For today’s prompt, take the phrase "True (blank)," 

replace the blanks with a new word or phrase, 

make the new phrase the title of your poem, and 

then, write your poem.

True Happiness

True happiness is often found

when we forget to look for it

While, as we trek the common ground

of day-to-day, we pause a bit

To feast on sweeps of boundless skies

or peer into a flower-cup

Or trace a treetop with our eyes

or kiss baby when she/he wakes up

Or sip a cuppa with a book

or drink an autumn afternoon

Mauve-mulled, or linger by a brook

where leaf-boats pass, gold and maroon 

Or in the thick of much to-do

hum a hymn or pray God to bless...

Then smile as wonder runs us through

with happiness on happiness

 Janet Martin

True Wisdom

The world is full of books

of tales and poetry

of travel, from cozy chair-nooks

bound for yon land and sea

Knowledge and wisdom's schemes

Fill turn of page on page

In countless plots, events and themes

the reader to engage 

...but true wisdom is found

In One Good Book alone

Though wonderful volumes abound

None are faith's Cornerstone

None tell of having borne

The cross of Calvary

No other love suffered hate's scorn

To ransom you and me

None fulfills prophecy

No bestseller transcends

Time, throughout all eternity

All earthy wisdom ends  

Only One Book will prove

The All-wise Author, when

We trust His Word to help us love

And live and die, Amen 

Janet Martin

True Love...

'well, at least they died doing what they love'

has become a common phrase of sympathy when someone loses their life

while doing what they enjoyed. 

Perhaps that phrase comforts some.

We live in an age when it seems Personal Pleasure is reason enough...

but it flies in the face of much instructions from God's word

 on how to truly love...and true love is able to discern

what is good and acceptable,

and doing enjoyable things is good and healthy in proper/healthy balance...

True Love

Sometimes we sacrifice the 'what we love' because the 'who

we love' is worth the giving up of what we love to do

Sometimes for the sake of the Best, we sacrifice the good

God alone knows the price we pay to love the way we should

True love is worth the 'less' of Self, for more and more and more

of love no phrase can fully tell where mercies pour and pour...

Janet Martin

PAD Challenge: day 9; write a help poem

some heart to heart chats with family and friends helped inspire this one...

It Helps To Know We're Not Alone...

It helps to know we're not alone

when it comes to love's trust-and-pray

to know some morrow may atone

what seems inglorious today

To know the present push and pull

of making love's ends meet and hold

May serve to make us more thankful

rather than grumble, fret or scold 

...as together, we weather life 

its holding close and letting go

its ups and downs of song or strife

As tears and laughter ebb and flow 

It helps to know in change of plan 

In hopes and dreams so trouble-prone

The help/love of God and fellowman

Reminds us we are not alone

Janet Martin

 

PAD Challenge-day 10

For today’s Two-for-Tuesday prompt:

Write a poetic form poem, and/or...

Write an anti-form poem.

I love the play of rhyme

lyrical rise and fall

unfurling a bucolic clime

within its madrigal

A little like a stream

that sparkles on the air

and winds its way into a dream

we did not know was there

Waking the girl or boy

in frames, weathered by Time

but never too old to enjoy

the magic of a rhyme 

Janet Martin

Dear Rhyming Poem or Not...

You are not posh, 'they' rule

And some turn up their nose

At Pentameter, so uncool

Compared to today's prose 

Some prose earns its esteem

But much is rank and base

Like a coffee with curdled cream

Repulsive to good taste 

Whether it rhymes or not 

Is of small consequence

Rather, the mind that bore the thought 

This is the poem's Thence 

Because the written word

Will either bless or curse

The ripple effect of thought stirred

For better or for worse

So, whether posh or plain

Whether its rhymes or not

Deems not the worth of the refrain

But how it affects thought

For all we say and do

Begins within the mind

Dear Poem/poet, let's keep this in view

As merit is defined

...and do the best we can

To spill salt of the earth

And honour our fellowman

By giving ink kind worth

Love,

Janet Martin 

When Missing One (Dear Lucy) and many others the world over...

Today we held our annual birthday tea for my mother

who turned 84 on Nov. 1st

We always feel the absence of one (Dear Lucy) deeply at these get-togethers.

Last night some friends and family gathered at her family's home to celebrate

the engagement of L and Lucy's youngest daughter.

Congratulations L&S 💞!!

(again Lucy's absence was deeply and tenderly felt!)

My thoughts are with a family who will reach the one-year mark

on Sat. of missing their dear mom, sister and many missing a dear friend,

and so it is the world over, loved ones 'missing one' .

when missing one a room becomes much larger than before

how is it that one empty chair leaves room for twenty more?

where no amount of chatter drowns the absent voice we miss

no sea of faces can replace one that no longer is 

when missing one, the world of 'us' becomes strangely askew

how is it that the loss of one transforms all that we knew

and we do all we can to recall memories so dear

like sense of humour, zest for life, wit, charm, compassion, cheer

when missing one we dearly love and miss, the world at large

becomes an opportunity to take love's sacred charge

and make the most of it, by the grace of God, while we may

before life's rooms grows larger than they had been yesterday 

Janet Martin

Life is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted Day 7: feeling

Writer's Digest PAD Chapbook Challenge- day 7

Something about a leafless tree

Kindles a kind of eulogy

In rustling leaves beneath my feet

Where laughter and lament compete

Something about trees, gray and bleak

With no leaf left for winds to tweak

Rouses a rolling sea-like surge

Within, akin to funeral dirge

Something about the quietude

Of woodlands, lusterless and nude

Evokes a sweeping, weeping lay

For what no hand can hold at bay

Something about the docile pose

Of trees bereft of lovely clothes/shows

Yet standing tall, ignites a rite

Of admiration and delight

Always November’s leafless tree

Erupts a tender eulogy

For the depiction of life’s play

And how each season has its way

Janet Martin

Dear Lucy...

I try to touch you as if Time

Could rewind yester-year

But instead of your warmth I find

The shimmer of a tear

But, as I reach for you, somehow

In the missing of you

I feel the loveliness of Now

Running my bearing through

***

Life is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted - Day 6; power

Behold Our God • T4G Live II [Official Lyric Video]

Days 1-5 of Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted HERE

 Day 6: Write a power poem

Do not fret though wicked prosper

Soon, like grass they are cut down

Trust in God; He is faith's author

His power, both shield and crown

Do not fret; though fiends conspire

They will perish in the end

They have no chariots of fire

Held in reserves, to defend

Do not fret though rebels rally

By their own schemes they will fail

When they fall in death's dark valley

The gates of hell will prevail

Do not fret when liars flourish

And things seems to go their way

Pray they repent ere they perish

Without hope on Judgment Day

God's kingdom, pow'r and glory

Will never be overthrown

Time is but part of the story

Before the full truth is known

Do not fret where dark days threaten

God's goodness will never dim

Keep faith's eyes fixed upon Heaven

We are conquerors through Him

Janet Martin

Ps.37:1-4

(Read whole precious chapter HERE)

Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

3Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

***

The power of darkness is great

But the power of light

With one small spark can pierce the dark

And nullify its might 

***

Hatred is bold, and oh, so cold

For all its seeks to prove

With bitter wrath it is no match

For one kind deed of love

The power of love is quite enough

To meet hate's meanest yen

Love never fails; its pow'r prevails

For God IS Love. Amen 

***

Who of mankind has the power

To kindle the bud to flower?

Who of mortal can compose

The workmanship of a rose?

Who can give the bird its call?

Who can thwart the petal's fall?

Who but one true God, has power

To ordain sunshine or shower?

Who but God authored the plan

That will save the soul of man?

Who then deserves worship's laud?

Only One powerful God

***

Whether rich or poor, old or young

Wherever we may 'while'

We share a universal tongue;

The power of a smile

***

Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted (Days one to five)

I completely forgot till yesterday;

It's November when Writer's Digest 

challenges participants with a new, daily poem-prompt!

aka PAD/poem-a-day Chapbook Challenge

Anyone is welcome to participate and 

enjoy its mental stretching exercises

and countless ways a prompt can take! 

Click Here for Guidelines

I think I will call this Chapbook

Life Is Poetry Waiting To Be Tasted...

Day 1: Write a fresh poem

In November I recall

Sanguine summer's garden stroll

Where I gleaned, with grateful toil

Supper-fare, fresh from the soil

In November I am glad

For the garden that I had

For nothing tastes quite as grand

As a meal fresh from God's Hand

Janet Martin

Day 2: take the phrase "(blank) More (blank),"

replace the blanks with a new word or phrase,

make the new phrase the title of your poem,

and then, write your poem.

Give More Thanks

A strange thing happens when we start

To count our blessings more

For gratitude transforms the heart

Where grumbling was before

And where once we noted life's 'less'

We notice more and more 

Reasons for humble thankfulness

Through kind favours galore

And wonder why in all the world

We didn't see before

A smorgasbord of joys unfurled

In blessings beyond score 

Janet Martin

Day 3:Two-for-Tuesday prompt:

Write a celebration poem, and/or...

Write a disappointment poem.

This life is bound to bring

Love-let-down's stinging kiss

But, never without cause to sing

And celebrate What Is

Like opportunity

Not touched or tasted yet

Where it is up to you and me

To forgive and forget

Then love our fellowman

With intent true and kind

By doing the best that we can

To leave What Was behind

Behold, Now's new What Is

Before it is too late

Let's relinquish Love Gone Amiss

And simply/sweetly/gladly celebrate

Janet Martin

Day 4: Write a 'short' poem

Loss, love's bittersweet reminder;

Life is short, so let's be kinder!

Janet Martin

Day 5: write a tree poem

Family Tree

With every leaf that falls

It leaves a tender hole

That hugs and tugs; a voice that calls

To hubs of heart and soul

While new buds burst to leaf

And always so will be

Where leaves flutter with joy and grief

Upon A Family Tree  

Janet Martin

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Because God Knows The Heart (a Prayer)

The most comforting and fearful thing is to know God knows our hearts!

As we meditate on this do we not cry as David of old?

Ps.51:10-12

'Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit...'

(Read David's entire prayer of repentance HERE)

1 Thessalonians 2:4
Instead, we speak as those approved by God 

to be entrusted with the gospel, 

not in order to please men but God, 

who examines our hearts.

A few weeks ago in the opening of our worship service

the speaker reminded us that it is not the merit of the skill that matters most,

but the heart from which it springs...

how the widow's two mites were of more value than 

those who gave out of their abundance.

God knows our hearts!

Mercy's renewed 'yes!' melts the darkness...

Passions seem to run so high these days, 

whatever the cause may be that provokes them!

Oh Lord, protect us from the evil one...

Create in us clean hearts

Deliver us from sin

Through true counsel Thy Word imparts

Transform us from within

Forgive our debt of shame

And lead us by Thy Light

To trust the power of Thy Name

To walk by faith, not sight

Lord, let us not forget

You know each secret boast

And where the inner eye is set

And what/who we value most

Thus, Lord we humbly plead

Create in us clean hearts

And help us pay more earnest heed

To truths Thy Word imparts

In paths of righteousness

For Thy Name's sake, oh Lord

Lead us, with mercy's renewed 'yes'

To covet faith's reward

...rather than fleeting gold

Help us revere Thy sight

That in our hearts Thou mayst behold

A humble widow's mite

How great and kind Thou art

For Thou dost hear my plea

'Create in me a kinder heart

With greater love for Thee'

Janet Martin

Here's My Heart by David Crowder

Near to the Heart of God

More Love To Thee - Fernando Ortega

Prelude To The Meaning of It All

Imagine, if this broken old world was the best there is...

Even the best it has to offer is SO fleeting at best!

From a child's perspective candy is life's best!!

and oh, how fast it disappears...

some flowers are still blooming profusely,

but not for long...  

Summer's garden is gathered in...

...and tucked down

(it feels so weird to have no garden-chores on my to-do list!)

God made a way for us, through Jesus,

to live with joy in sorrow

 and hope in the face of hopelessness;

with holy purpose in the humble mundane;

for, with/for Him we never live or love in vain...

Imagine if our hugs and kisses, 

tears and laughter,

prayers and pardons

amounted to nothing more than 

falling leaves...

Sometimes we think we glimpse heaven here;

the hug/company of a loved one,

the dimpled giggle of a baby,

the music of kind words,

the lavish beauty of earth and sky...

but God tells us,

'“No eye has seen, 

no ear has heard, 

no heart has imagined, 

what God has prepared 

for those who love Him.”

1 Cor.2:9

To live to love in vain;

Is there sorrier waste

Than to weather pleasure and pain

To treasure touch and taste

To be amazed and awed

By beauty’s kaleidoscope

To see the majesty of God

But be blind to His hope

To laugh and weep without

The purpose of much more

Than this old world can boast about

To even heartbreak’s score

To know, no matter what

No human thought can plumb

The glorious mysteries of God;

‘The best is yet to come’

After the part we see

Returns to earth again

Is there a greater tragedy

Than to live-love in vain

Is there a greater grief

Than, in death’s certain call

To miss, because of unbelief

The meaning of it all

Janet Martin

1 Cor.15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, 

be steadfast, immovable, 

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

 knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(Read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

the reason for the hope we have in Christ!

A Crucial Pilgrimage

We live in an age of unprecedented, instant information and distraction;

 a ready plethora of both good and evil primed to feed the mind!

The phrases 'We become what we behold' and 'We are what we think' 

thunders with undeniable evidence! 

We are what we eat physically as well as mentally!

As vitally important as it is to feed the body nourishing food

to maintain good health, so too, the mind!

Today is preserve-the-last-of-the-garden-harvest day! 

Doesn't it look so good?!!

It's all so nourishing and pure and delicious and

of absolutely no value unless/until I eat it!!

(Sometimes it's easy to tuck it in the freezer or fruit cellar, 

then, out of sight, out of mind,

 I reach for meals of convenience) 😕😶

The Way from here to There is fraught with much to learn and bear

A crucial pilgrimage where Thought prefaces rife returns

Where always a sumptuous buffet groans with unguarded fare

Preceding what we do and say, and consequence choice earns

The Way from here to Where the Soul will shed its cloak and shoes

(we all are faced toward this goal nobody can reject)

Runs through a room of tables heaped with much to taste and choose

Of snacks and meals and cuppa steeped with cause first, then effect

The Way from here to He who grants the onus of insight

Unfurls each morn with renewed chance for minds to eat and drink

Ah, pray we feast with careful heed, examining each bite

Whether it behooves word and deed; the fruit of what we think

The way from here to There runs rife with cesspools for the mind

Unless/until we eat the bread of life and drink from wisdom’s well;

A spring of Living Water, pure, peace-loving, gentle, kind

Rent from a Rock that will endure against the gates of hell

What crucial pilgrimage, the way of thought; how fraught its feasts

How influential the buffet laden with potent score

As thought, in its partaking fellowships with God or beasts

And with the mind is making the account we answer for 

Janet Martin

Phil.4:8

Finally, brothers,

 whatever is true,

 whatever is honorable, 

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent

 or praiseworthy—

think on these things.

1Cor.15:33-34

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; f

or some do not have the knowledge of God. 

I speak this to your shame.

Think Well and Do Well (Psalm 26:3) - Charles Spurgeon Sermon

Some food for thought from the above message;

'If you doubt Christ's love for you,

you will not love Him, but remember

that He still loves you,

then, believe it, hold on to it and

your love will revive'!

O, Fathomless Abyss

The fathomless heavens brim where mercy has not failed

as the beginning of a new day-week-month is unveiled!

Rom.11:33

Oh, the depth of the riches

 and wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable are his judgments

 and how inscrutable his ways!

Job 11:7-9
Can you fathom the deep things of God 

or discover the limits of the Almighty? 

 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? 

They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 

Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

***

Today's inspiration is the gathering together of many threads;

one, this morning's devotion below.

another, from a train of tender thoughts after yesterday

when Jim and I took my parent's to visit another aging couple

whose bodies and minds are suffering time's toll;

and the beauty in their conversation of their hope and joy in 

better Things to come, when the Lord wills!

Another thread; the inexpressible mingling of joy and grief as we

thank God for our new pastor and still deeply mourn

the loss that brought him to us! 

Oh, fathomless abyss, unplumbed by mortal will

In a world with so much amiss, who can true hope fulfill?

The glove of circumstance, the trove where trouble teems

Are but a finite wink and glance on mercy’s boundless streams

Where God’s goodness and grace no thought can comprehend

Nor reason-wrought assumption trace a Path that hath no end

Oh, inscrutable depth of Threads by God’s hands held

Through His fingers the warp and weft of faith, hope and love meld

To weave a Confidence, though trials may increase

The mind stayed on Kind Providence God binds with perfect peace

Then, though no mortal knows what trial yet may come

The riches only God bestows no faith nor fear can plumb

Oh, fathomless abyss, no plot or scheme can quell

Oh, fulfillment of promises eternity will tell

Oh, matchless Name of He who is mighty to save

Who broke sin’s curse at Calvary and overthrew the grave

To anchor Hope where His Word and mysteries meld

Until faith’s fathomless abyss of riches is beheld

Fathomless verge unseen anchors the path we tread 

As breath by breath unfolds between what was and waits ahead

Where we are not alone to face faith's grueling tests

God makes his faithful Presence known as on His Word we rest 

When dread's dark clouds amass, what joy God's peace sustains

To know that nothing can surpass the depths that He ordains  

Janet Martin

God Moves in a Mysterious Way 

Lyrics

Author: William Cowper (1731–1800), written in 1773.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.