Mountain Breezes

Greetings, dear friends! We just returned from the Christian bookstore in Ottawa, Shiloh Storehouse, where I picked up a copy of Amy Carmichael's "Mountain Breezes", a volume of her collected poems.

Her work entitled Thy Way Is Perfect caught my attention. The accompanying scripture passages is
2 Samuel 22:31.

Amy writes:

Long is the way and very steep the slope;
Strengthen me once again, O God of Hope.

Far, very far, the summit doth appear;
But Thou art near, my God, but Thou art near.

And Thou wilt give me with my daily food,
Powers of endurance, courage, fortitude.

Thy way is perfect, only let that way
Be clear before my feet from day to day.

Thou art my Portion, saith my soul to Thee,
Oh, what a Portion is my God to me!

Perplexed?

Last night I took an old classic by V. Raymond Edman, the Disciplines of Life, up to our bedroom to peruse. I'm glad I did! At the close of each chapter is a verse of a hymn or a poem that really drives the point of the chapter home.

One of these poems was penned by John Oxenham and entitled "God's Handwriting". Oxenham writes:

"He writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife -
But there, with larger clearer sight,
We shall see this - His way was right."

Having trouble understanding why God is allowing certain trials and heartaches to be so much a part of your life? You're not the only one! We can take solace in this certain fact...

"As for God, His way is perfect." - Psalm 18:30

Believe it, friend, for His Word is faithful and true!