Would I seek that fair land where there is no night?
If I never grew weary with the weight of my load,
Would I search for Gods peace at the end of the road?
If I never knew sickness and never felt pain,
Would I search for a hand to help and sustain?
If I walked without sorrow and lived with loss,
Would my soul seek solace at the foot of the cross?
If all I desired was mine day by day,
Would I kneel before God and earnestly pray?
If God sent no winter to freeze me with fear,
Would I yearn for the warmth of spring every year?
I ask myself these and the answer is plain,
If my life was all pleasure and I never knew pain-
I'd seek God less often and need him much less,
For God is sought more often in times of distress,
And no one knows God or sees him as plain-
As those who have met him on the pathway of pain.
Helen Steiner Rice
