Pathway of Pain

"Pathway of Pain"
If my days were untroubled
and my heart always light,
would I seek that fair land
where there is no night?
If I never grew weary
with the weight of my load,
would I search for Gods peace
at the end of the road?
If I never knew sickness
and never felt pain,
would I search for a hand
to help and sustain?
If I walked without sorrow
and lived without loss,
would my soul seek solace
at the foot of the cross?
If all I desired
was mine day by day,
would I kneel before God
and earnestly pray?
If God sent no winter
to freeze me with fear,
would I yearn for the
warmth of Spring every year?
I ask myself these
and the answer is plain,
if my life were pleasure
and I never knew pain
I'd seek God less often
and need Him much less,
for God is sought more often
in times of distress.
And no one knows God
or sees Him as plain
as those who have met Him
on the "Pathway of Pain."

Author: Helen Steiner Rice