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 heavens thundered and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.
O 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, O friend, call back,
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.
- Selected
(Quoted in Streams In The Desert devotional)
'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 heavens thundered and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.
O 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, O friend, call back,
'Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.
- Selected
(Quoted in Streams In The Desert devotional)
Does anyone know the author of this poem? My mother gave it to me before her death, without the author listed. I would even like to know the title of the book out of which it was copied...
ReplyDeletethanks.
This poem is published in the Climbing by Rosalind Gofoth a while back. Mrs,. Cowan as Mrs. Goforth, used it in her streams in the Desert with anonymous author. Perhaps no one knows the author.
DeleteI would like to know too. My mom gave it to me when I little younger. And I'm still trying to understand it.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever go through a wilderness experience, where God seem's nowhere, and it lasts a long long season, and has no explanation, you will definately understand that poem.
DeleteI don't know what book it was originally published in, but it is in Streams In The Desert, a daily devotional put together by Mrs. Charles Cowman in 1925. There is no author listed in the book.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is pretty simple: If someone else is doing better than I spiritually, and I am weak, then call back to encourage me on the way (in my walk with the Lord). Keep leading on, and keep calling back, so I know I am not struggling alone.
I had thought the poem was by Mrs. Cowman, who had included it in her foreword to the book. Unfortunately I have no date for the writing of that foreword, as I have misplaced the little old volume. I once typed out her word and poem, placing them in a journal. Here is the beginning of that:
ReplyDelete"'It shall turn to you for a testimony'(Luke 21:13)
"Life is a steep climb, and it does the heart good to have somebody 'call back' and cheerily beckon us on up the high hill. We are all climbers together, and we must help one another. This mountain climbing is serious business, but glorious. It takes strength and steady step to find the summits. The outlook widens with the altitude. If anyone among us has found anything worth while, we ought to 'call back.'"
Then the poem is beneath that, and the whole seems to have been written by her.
Mrs. Cowman gleaned these poems and stories from many different sources and put them together in books to be an encouragement to her husband when he was ill. Most of the poems used do not list an author. If specific ones were written by her, I have no way of being sure, I usually try to do a search online to see if I can locate the original writer, but sometimes all that reveals is "Anonymous" or "Author unknown."
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and leaving a comment.
roslin Goforth might have been the author
ReplyDeleteI have a book by Rosalind Goforth titled Climbing - Memories of a Missionairies Wife In which she quotes the poem Call Back and it says Selected at the end of the poem above. No authors name mentioned. For anyone interested in reading it the Book climbing is a wonderful testimony to Gods' wonderful provision
DeleteThe Lord gave me this poem in a, at least for, somewhat mysterious way, knowing it was exactly what was needed 'in the spirit for me. I had just finished reading "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Deibler Rose, feeling like the puniest of Christians compared to her, and just before closing the book to put it awasy I noticed something zI had previously overlooked, someone had penned by hand onto the back of the book cover page this poem. Call Back. And I knew that would have been Darlene's delight to know she had not only challenged my faith, but also encouraged a sister in Christ who had asked the Lord to show her his purpose in her life, how she might live better for Him. I am neasrer the end thasn the beginning, but may I say to you who are still young and vvigorous, or any christian person, do not waste your years on earthly, transient pursuits, but rather store up for yourselves treasures in heaven that do not rust nor decay. Life goes by faster than you can now grasp.
ReplyDelete