Encouragement

"This life is a difficult riddle,

For how many people we see

With faces as long as a fiddle

That ought to be shining with glee.

I am sure in this world there are plenty

Of good things enough for us all

And yet there's not one out of twenty

But thinks that his share is too small.

"Then what is the use of repining,

For where there's a will there's a way,

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today.

"Do you think that by sitting and sighing,

You'll ever obtain all you want?

It's cowards alone that are crying

And foolishly saying, 'I can't!'

It is only by plodding and striving

And laboring up the steep hill

Of life, that you'll ever be thriving

Which you'll do if you've only the will.

"Then what is the use of repining,

For where there's a will, there's a way,

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today."

...And as they sang, the fear and the suffering of the long winter seemed to rise like a dark cloud and float away on the music.  Spring had come.  The sun was shining warm, the winds were soft, and the green grass growing.

~From 'The Long Winter' By Laura Ingalls Wilder