Call Back

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back--
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perchance, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest's roots were torn;
That, when the heaven's thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the air was still.

Oh friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you'll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you'll say He saw you through the night's sin-darkened sky--
If you have gone a little way ahead, oh friend, call back!--
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.

--Anonymous