When I started on life’s journey,

To find my soul’s sweet rest,

My path was strewn with roses,

My heart was filled with zest.

The way was marked before me,

I didn’t have a care.

God’s great love enfolded me,

His sweetness filled the air.

My path went through a valley,

Filled with plush fields of green.

On through a fruitful orchard,

And by a lovely dancing stream.

Then suddenly without warning,

The path seemed hard to find,

It led me from the valley’s wealth,

Up through a steep incline.

Each step became more difficult,

And very hard to make.

It was the only route I found,

To reach the master’s gate.

I climbed the mountain slowly;

My joints throbbed with pain.

Storm clouds gathered overhead,

Then came the pounding rain.

Even with the obstacles,

My goal I would pursue.

The storm gave way to silence;

My mountain came in view.

When finally on the mountain top,

I paused to catch my breath,

And saw my path descending

Through a valley filled with death.

Descending down the mountain slope,

A north wind starts to blow.

The sky was overcast with clouds,

The air was thick with snow.

The mountain steep and treacherous,

The storm turned day to night,

I stumbled on rock’s sharp edges,

Without a ray of light.

I cried, "Have you forsaken me?

Did you leave me on the way?

Am I cast down forever,

Have I somehow gone astray?

Have you never heard me weeping?

Have you not heard my cry?

The fruit trees have all withered

And the fountain has run dry."

Suddenly out of my darkness

I heard His wisdom speak,

"I carved this rugged pathway

With bruised and bleeding feet.

I did not lead you in my steps

To hear you moan and cry,

If you desire to reign with me,

Your carnal will must die.

If you would follow in my steps,

And share my cross with me,

You must go through my garden too,

And on to Calvary."