Long , long ago! Long years fore I was born
God fashioned me, and knew the bitter storm
And heart worn perils of the way
Before e?re I could enter Heaven?
My parents watched the day I was born
So tiny, weak and helpless was that form
But they despaired, earth?s trials they could face
They prayed, ?Oh Lord, to raise that tiny child
Give us both grace and strength.?
To do Thy will
It surely will be climbing up
A steep and rugged hill
And I recall of youth, the loving care
And Mother carefully curling that dark hair
Which hung in ringlets and the deep blue eyes
Which showed the Irish in the family. A surprise!.
But deep within that shy and silent form there gleaned
A sturdiness and strength that none had deemed
A form so tiny could possess
I entered all of life with vim and zest
It was as tho God had answered their prayer
And said I?ll stay close by her everywhere
As soon as I had learned to read
I gleaned the Bible through to find a seed
Of hope and faith and prayer to lead me on
Just through the present day, I could not see beyond
But somehow I felt there was something great
A work for me to do, but it could wait
I roamed the woods and loved God?s towering trees
And all that nature gave the different shape of leaves
The murmur of the brook , the croak of a frog
Somehow it brought me closer to God
But the joy within the pages of a book
While seated in a tree or by a running brook
It opened fairylands, unknown to me
Created longing, all this great wide world to see
And I wanted oh so much to stand
And help the starving souls in India?s far off land
But as impossible that seemed to me
I closed the door and let it be
And then instead of India?s hungering fold
I taught a country school with lads and lassie?s bold
And though far off lands I cannot roam
There is much to teach so close to home
And so I?ve helped in some small way
