Give Thanks for the Hard Things in Life

There are those who give thanks for the pleasures
And comforts which come to their door;
But repine at the trials and hardships,
And complain that their burdens are sore.

There are souls who accept all the bounties
Bestowed by One gracious and just:
But lament if the road is o'ershadwed
Or obscured by the storm and the dust.

Shall we then, accept only the good things,
The ones which are easy to bear;
And revile at the fate which required us
To remove from the path thorn and snare?

Not alone for the easy and pleasant
should our praise and thanksgiving ascend;
For the Father in sending us trials,
But proves He's more truly our friend.

Not to each comes the same kind of troubles.
Yet hardships we surely must bear
If we are to prove our true metal,
And pure gold is always too rare

So let us give thanks for the heartaches,
For the Brier-stewn way and the tear;
They are stepping-stones higher and farther,
They are helping us grow year by year

And instead of lamenting and grieving
When difficult things come our way.
Let us fasten our armour the closer
And cheerfully, calmly obey.

Thank God for the beauty of labor;
The glory which follows the strife;
For the strength which is born of our weakness--
Thank God for the hard things in life.

--Nancy Smith Lowe