Our Lord has plans for our lives, yet we sometimes seek our will and ways rather than His. The following verse serves as a reminder that we are called to follow Him and please Him in all our ways.
I transcribed this poem from a radio broadcast and the speaker didn't mention the title, so I know only the author's name, Martha Snell Nickelson. [See Concluding Note]
I transcribed this poem from a radio broadcast and the speaker didn't mention the title, so I know only the author's name, Martha Snell Nickelson. [See Concluding Note]
When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me,
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see
How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Will there be grief in my Saviour's eyes,
Grief though He loves me still?
He would have me rich and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
Then my desolate heart will well nigh break
With the tears that I cannot shed.
I shall cover my face with empty hands;
I shall bow my uncrowned head.
Lord of the years that are left to me
I give them to Thy hand
Take me
Break me
Mold me
To the pattern Thou hast planned.
And He shows me His plan for me,
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see
How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Will there be grief in my Saviour's eyes,
Grief though He loves me still?
He would have me rich and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
Then my desolate heart will well nigh break
With the tears that I cannot shed.
I shall cover my face with empty hands;
I shall bow my uncrowned head.
Lord of the years that are left to me
I give them to Thy hand
Take me
Break me
Mold me
To the pattern Thou hast planned.
Note: When first I published this poem on my website, I knew nothing about its source other than the author's name. Now, as I am redesigning my site in late 2002, I decided to again try to find information about the author. A web search provided a page which contains not only this work, but others of hers, and some information about the author's life. Additionally, the page contains a link to a lovely letter written by Martha Snell Nickerson's nephew.
[I do not necessarily endorse all contents of outside links; this page in particular contains at least one quote from C. S. Lewis, a man whose life and work raise compelling doubts about the verity of claims that he was a Christian.]
