Is Your Cross too Heavy to Bear?

Complainingly I told myself,
“this cross is too heavy to wear”
And I wondered discontentedly
why God gave it to me to bear.
And 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 -
And then, in a dream, I beheld the cross
I impulsively wanted to wear,
It was fashioned of pearls and diamonds
and gems that were 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 -
And then in my dream I saw “my cross,”
rugged and old and plain,
That 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 we can wear -
So never complain about YOUR CROSS,
for your cross has been blest,
God made it JUST FOR YOU to wear
and remember, GOD KNOWS BEST!