Looking Forward by Pearl Waggoner

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Apr 13, 1911

Looking Forward

By Pearl Waggoner

PEARL WAGGONER

CRYING child,— a dolly broken,— ’Twas a disappointment keen; Then a sentence lightly spoken, And the smiles again were seen.

What so quickly soothed the sorrow, Wiped the welling tears away? Just the promise that the morrow Was to be a picnic day.

Looking forward! ’Tis the secret E’en of older persons’ strength,— Strength to bear the present trial For the joy to come at length.

What sustains the weary sufferer Lying on a bed of pain, But the thought of rest before him, And of health renewed again?

What so cheers the lonely wanderer Who in lands afar may roam, As the hope of glad reunion, And the thought of love and home?

Lives there one, whate’er his calling, But has cherished visions fond Of some joy— hope’s glad fruition— Waiting in the years beyond?

Looking forward! So the student, Patient, burns the midnight oil. Thinking of the glorious harvest, Lo, the farmer tills the soil.

Looking forward, looking forward! ’Tis the joy of every life, Giving strength for present duty, Victory in present strife.

So we, too, are looking forward, Hoping, watching, day by day, For the morning which shall scatter All earth’s darksome clouds away.

Many hopes our hearts have cherished In the months and years gone by; One by one, with many a heartache, Have we seen them fade and die.

Yet we’re hoping, trusting ever, With a hope, thank God, not vain, Looking for its glad fulfilment When our Lord shall come again.

Though the waiting time is weary, And he seems to tarry long, Yet such hope, so bright, so blessed, Keeps us glad and makes us strong.

So we work, yet looking forward, Through the mists which now divide, To the morn when we shall see Him, In his likeness satisfied.

Hinsdale, Ill.