Is The Cross You Wear Too Heavy To Bear? - Poem by Helen Steiner Rice

Is The Cross You Wear Too Heavy To Bear?

Complainingly 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 discontented 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.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

(Note: this is not an endorsement of all this author has written, though I do appreciate this poem and several others.)

There seems to be several slightly different versions of this poem online. If anyone can email me a copy of this poem from a published book of her poems, I will edit this page to reflect the official version. Thank you.