All those who journey, soon or late,
Must pass within the garden's gate;
Must kneel alone in darkness there,
And battle with some fierce despair.
God pity those who cannot say:
"Not mine but thine;" who only pray:
"Let this cup pass," and cannot see
The purpose in Gethsemane.
If nobody smiled and nobody cheered
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How could you be so slow"
"My child," He said, "What could I do?
You never did let go."
I asked the Lord, "What shall I do?"
And my love flowed warm and free.
Then He pointed me out a tiny spot
And said, "Tend that for me."
I quickly relied, "Oh no, not that.
"Why no one would ever see.
"No matter how well my work was done;
"Not that little place for me."
The word He spoke, It was not stern,
He answered me tenderly;
"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.
"Are you working for them or me?
"Nazareth was a little place, and so was Galilee."
A bell isn't a bell 'till it's rung,
A song isn't a song 'till it's sung,
Love isn't put in your heart to stay,
Love isn't love 'till it's given away.
Life itself can't give you joy
Unless you really will it;
Life just gives you time and space
It's up to you to fill it.
Praise the Lord in joyful song,
Praise Him, Praise Him all day long.
But what of me, I cannot sing;
I have no melody to bring?
Then read again, oh joy of joys,
The Lord said, "Make a joyful noise."
How is it I was worth all you could give
That I, through thee, with our Father might live.
Through agony suffered in Gethsemane
You've given our Father's kingdom to me.
You bled and died on Calvary's hill
To seal yourself to the Father's will.
While heavenly legions awaited your call
You silently suffered, atoning for all.
Freedom from sin you won for us then
And life eternal you brought forth again.
You shattered forever death's shackled band
By rising in ressurrection grand.
Following God, you showed us the way
To walk in your path that each of us may
Return to the presence of our heavenly Lord
And glory forever in his holy word.
I don't wish to be
If you were busy being kind,
Before you knew it you would find
You'd soon forget to think `twas true
That someone was unkind to you.
If you were busy being glad
And cheering people who seem sad,
Although your heart might ache a bit,
You'd soon forget to notice it.
If you were busy being good,
And doing just the best you could,
You'd not have time to blame some man
Who's doing just the best he can.
If you were busy being true
To what you know you ought to do,
You'd be so busy you'd forget
The blunders of the folks you've met.
If you were busy being right,
You'd find yourself too busy quite
To criticize your brother long,
Because he's busy being wrong.
I always find myself here
On the outside, looking in;
Looking in on others lives
And love I'll never win.
In all the things I've done
And places where I've been
I'm always on the outside,
Looking in.
My life's been filled with loneliness
And emptiness and pain,
And every time I think I'll win
It comes around again
To take away the sunshine
And leave me in the rain;
This cold and lonely life here
Filled with pain.
So do I quit looking and trying to show
How much I'm willing to give,
And do I quit trying to be in their lives
And keep to myself as I live.
Doubts that started small
Grow ever stronger now, it seems,
Shadowing my daylight hours
And creeping in my dreams.
When I was uninvited,
Or chosen last for teams,
The reasons grow more obvious,
It seems.
Looking toward the future now,
I know not where it leads;
To loneliness and misery,
Or marvelous, great deeds.
I see there only things to fear
And empty, unfilled needs
And no one there to take me
Where it leads.
So do I quit looking and trying to show
How much I'm willing to give,
And do I quit trying to be in their lives
And keep to myself as I live.
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
He asked for strength that he might achieve,
The night has a thousand eyes,
Under the wide and starry sky
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
I'll hold my candle high, and then
Perhaps I'll see the hearts of men
Above the sordidness of life,
Beyond misunderstandings, strife.
Though many deeds that others do
Seem foolish, rash and sinful too,
Just who am I to criticize
What I perceive with my dull eyes?
I'll hold my candle high, and then
Perhaps I'll see the hearts of men.
The waters uprose in the dark;
All perished, save those in the Ark.
Their tower's impressive statistics
Pleased architects, boosters and mystics,
There once was an old man from Esser
Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser,