Spring Blossoms and Father, I know that all my life

Father, I know that all my life
Is portion’d out for me;
The changes that will surely come,
I do not fear to see;
I ask thee for a present mind,
Intent on pleasing thee.

I ask thee for a watchful love,
Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And wipe the weeping eyes;
A heart at leisure from itself,
To soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do,
Or secret thing to know:
I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.

I ask thee for the daily strength
To none that ask denied,
A mind to blend with outward life,
While keeping at thy side;
Content to fill a little space,
If thou be glorified.

In service which thy will appoints,
There are no bonds for me;
My inmost heart is taught “the truth”
That makes thy children “free:”
A life of self-renouncing love
Is one of liberty.

Miss A. L. Waring, alt., 1850