Splinters from the Cross

(Crucified Christ by Viktor Vasnetsov)

Little headaches, little heartaches

Little griefs of every day.

Little trials and vexations,

How they throng around our way!

One great Cross, immense and heavy,

So it seems to our weak will,

Might be borne with resignation,

But these many small ones kill.

Yet all life is formed of small things,

Little leaves, make up the trees,

Many tiny drops of water

Blending, make the mighty seas.

Let us not then by impatience

Mar the beauty of the whole,

But for love of Jesus bear all

In the silence of our soul.

Asking Him for grace sufficient

To sustain us through each loss,

And to treasure each small offering

As a splinter from His Cross.

~Author Unknown