How Beautiful

How beautiful are the arms which have embraced Christ,
the hands which have touched Christ,
the eyes which have gazed upon Christ,
the lips which have spoken with Christ,
the feet which have followed Christ.
How beautiful are the hands which have worked the works of Christ,
the feet which treading in His footsteps have gone about doing good,
the lips which have spread abroad His name,
the lives which have been counted lost for Him.

-Christina Rosetti

PeAcE

In Acceptance Lieth Peace

by Amy Carmichael

He said, “I will forget the dying faces;
The empty places,
They shall be filled again.
O voices moaning deep within me, cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in forgetting lieth peace.

He said, “I will crowd action upon action,
The strife of faction
Shall stir me and sustain;
O tears that drown the fire of manhood, cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in endeavor lieth peace.

He said, “I will withdraw me and be quiet,
Why meddle in life’s riot?
Shut be my door to pain.
Desire, thou dost befool me, thou shalt cease.”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in aloofness lieth peace.

He said, “I will submit; I am defeated.
God hath depleated
My life of its rich gain.
O futile murmurings, why will ye not cease?”
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in submission lieth peace.

He said, “I will accept the breaking sorrow
Which God tomorrow
Will to His son explain.”
Then did the turmoil deep within him cease.
Not vain the word, not vain;
For in acceptance lieth peace.

"Whatever your circumstances, and however difficult they may be, the truth is that they are ordained by God for you as part of His overall plan for your life. God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose. And His purposes, however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good." -Jerry Bridges

Lord, I am willing to-
Receive what You give,
Lack what You withold,
Relinquish what You take.