Is the Cross You Wear to Heavy to Bear?

Is the Cross You Wear Too Heavy to Bear?

Complaining I told myself
this cross was too heavy to wear,
And I wondered discontentedly
why God gave it to me to bear.
I looked with envy at others
whose crosses seemed lighter than mine
And wished that I could change my cross
for one of a lighter design.

Then in a dream I beheld the cross
I impulsively wanted to wear--
It was fashioned of pearls and diamonds
and gems that are precious and rare,
And when I hung it around my neck,
the weight of the jewels and the gold
Was much too heavy and cumbersome
for my small, slender neck to hold.

So I tossed it aside, and before my eyes
was a cross of rose-red flowers,
And I said with delight as I put it on,
"This cross I can wear for hours."
For it was so dainty and fragile,
so lovely and light and thin,
But I had forgotten about the thorns
that started to pierce my skin.

Then in a dream I saw my cross--
rugged and old and plain--
The clumsy old cross I had looked upon
with dicontented disdain,
And at last I knew that God had made
this special cross for me,
For God in His great wisdom
knew what I before could not see--
That often the loveliest crosses
are the heaviest crosses to bear,
For only God is wise enough
to choose the cross each can wear.

So never complain about your cross,
for your cross has been blessed--
God made it just for you to wear
and remember, God knows best.

by Helen Steiner Rice
Book of Blessings