When I Was a Child

by Mary Elizabeth Postell Ralston
(probably written in 1976)

When I was a little child,
I loved my mama and I loved my dad.
But somehow they had to die,
And that left me broken-hearted and very sad.

My road has been rugged and narrow,
Full of loneliness and much sorrow.
Yet I trod along, walking among the rocks and in the sand,
Holding onto an unseen Hand.

This Hand is tender and strong,
Lets me know I have a Father,
He’s always near, and that I’m never alone.
He’s my kith and He’s my kin;
He’s my father, mother, and He’s my friend.

Along my way I met a young man.
He said, “Let me walk by your side.”
I looked up in his lovely face and took him by the hand.
My Friend said, “I will join you as man and wife.
You must travel together as long as there is life.”

On our way, we traveled through the land
Walking on rock and then in the sand.
In the process of time we met our children.
They each were lovely, tender, and sweet –
Little babes growing up around our feet.

Now they all are married and in homes of their own,
Walking, working, playing, and singing their song.
There are glad days and sad days with their bloom and their blight,
Their fullness of sunshine and sorrowful night,
All bound up in a sheaf which the unseen Hand holds tight.

He and I are almost to the end of our road,
Looking at the golden sunset,
Still carrying our load,
Still holding to his hand,
Anticipating our eternal home over in Glory Land.