Rock me to Sleep Mother

Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
Make me a child again just for tonight!
Mother, come back from the echoless shore,
Take me again to your heart as of yore;
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care,
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair;
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep;—     
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!
Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!
I am so weary of toil and of tears,—     
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain,—  
Take them, and give me my childhood again!
I have grown weary of dust and decay,—  
Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away;
Weary of sowing for others to reap;—  
Rock me to sleep, mother – rock me to sleep!
Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue,
Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you!
Many a summer the grass has grown green,
Blossomed and faded, our faces between:
Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain,
Long I tonight for your presence again.
Come from the silence so long and so deep;—  
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!
Over my heart, in the days that are flown,
No love like mother-love ever has shone;
No other worship abides and endures,—     
Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours:
None like a mother can charm away pain
From the sick soul and the world-weary brain.
Slumber’s soft calms o’er my heavy lids creep;—     
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!
Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold,
Fall on your shoulders again as of old;
Let it drop over my forehead tonight,
Shading my faint eyes away from the light;
For with its sunny-edged shadows once more
Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore;
Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep;—  
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!
Mother, dear mother, the years have been long
Since I last listened your lullaby song:
Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem
Womanhood’s years have been only a dream.
Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace,
With your light lashes just sweeping my face,
Never hereafter to wake or to weep;—     
Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!
By Elizabeth (Akers) Allen. 1832–1911

Enduring to the End

So it has dawned on me that sometimes our trials are never taken away. Sometimes we are burdened with them until we die, sometimes, or learn the lesson intended for us. As desciples of Christ, and as baptized members of His church, we have taken upon us the understanding that we are to ‘endure to the end’. What does it mean to endure to the end. I always thought enduring to the end meant to be a faithful member of Christ’s church until we die. To represent Him in the best way we know how.

I believe ‘enduring to the end’ does mean the things I just mentioned, but  I believe ‘enduring to the end’ also means that we need to endure our trials and frustrations until the end. Often, it is easier for us to pray and ask God to ‘take this problem away from me’. We can find ourselves telling God to ‘just get me through this trial’. But how often have we taken a step back and pondered the idea that, maybe there is a trial that we inherit that won’t go away – ever. What if there are trials given to us that test us on how well we hold out on and to see how well we continue our faithful relationship with God? 

I propose  that ‘enduring to the end’ not only means being faithful members of God’s church to the end, but it also means enduring our trials to the end on a very personal and practical level – even if they never go away, or take time to. Even though some trials don’t go away, we have the opportunity to show our God how well we love Him under every circumstance we encounter. It is here where we can focus on strengthening our relationship with God, and then we’ll be able to see how the negatives of our trials can be made into positives. God will show us. It may not be immediate, but the day will come.