“Thou
knowest not what a day may bring forth…”
The
future I cannot see,
I live
each moment for all it is worth
And
wonder what I shall be.
I think
I understand my self today,
The
present I’m sure I see;
But
honestly I’d be hard pressed to say
Just
how things came thus to be.
What
was it that made us the way we are?
Did
we do it all alone?
Did
we chart the course that brought us this far?
Or,
were we the pathway shown?
Is there
a man whose wisdom cast the die
That
made us who we’ve become?
Tell
me, if you can, who he is and why
He
made life so troublesome!
Not
myself, nor any man, is so wise
As
to do all this alone;
No man
below could ever realize
None
could see – none could have known.
Many
lives came together many ways…
Some
by chance, some by design;
Endless
encounters, endless nights and days
In
my life did all combine.
The
will of others and choices I made
Made
me what I am today;
A moment
hastened, a moment delayed…
Who
knows which brought me this way?
Many
things, often unseen, fix our course,
In
ways unknown to us then;
That
which we know not is an awesome force,
Far
stronger than mortal men.
A chance
encounter, a call from a friend,
Or,
perhaps something we’ve seen?
Who
knows just what brought our lives to this end?
And
who knows what might have been?
It’s
clear we know not why life’s ordered so,
We
just can’t see the details;
The
best we can do is to onward go
Knowing
that past knowledge fails.
Now
if we don’t know how we came to be,
Nor
know we of yesterday,
How
could we ever our future course see?
Can
some man show us the way?
Much
greater than man must this Seer be,
Wiser,
too, and stronger far;
This
One must be able all things to see…
All
things as they truly are.
He must
not be bound by death and decay,
Nor
passions common to all;
He must
have been watching from life’s first day
And
also He must ne’er fall.
He exists,
I know, but He’s not revealed
The
answers that I now seek;
The
future, just as the past, is concealed
From
the ignorant and weak.
Such
are all men, for we know not just why
Or
how today came to be;
We only
know that we’ll live ‘til we die
Just
when or how we can’t see…
It is
ours’ to do what this One commands,
We’re
to trust Him and obey…
Happily
meeting His ev’ry demand
As
here we pursue our way.
In His
own good time He’ll beckon us home,
And
there give us our reward;
Then
from His bosom we’ll nevermore roam,
Safe
in the arms of the Lord!
It is
true that I know not many things,
“Tomorrow”
or “yesterday”;
Yet
I know that someday on angel’s wings
With
Him I will fly away…
He Who
knows is in charge and all is well,
In
this we give Him the praise;
He Who
knows is in charge and all is well:
And
shall be through endless days.
H. L. Gradowith
01-04-2002