Discouragement and Dreams

So many things in the line of duty

Drain us of effort and leave us no beauty.

And the dust of the soul grows thick and unswept;

The spirit is drenched in tears unwept.

But just as we fall beside the road,

Discouraged with life and bowed down with our load,

We kift our eyes, and what seemed a dead end

Is the street of dreams where we meet a friend.

-Helen Steiner Rice

Life is a Garden

Life is a garden, good friends are the flowers,

And time spent together life's happiest hours...

And friendship, like flowers, blooms even more fair

When carefully tended by dear friends who care...

-Helen Steiner Rice

The Art of Greatness

It's not fortune or fame or worldwide acclaim

Tha makes for true greatness, you'll find;

It's the wonderful art of teaching the heart

To always be thoughtful and kind!

-Helen Steiner Rice

The Garden of Friendship

There is no garden

So complete

But roses could make

The place more sweet.

There is no life

So rich and rare

But one more friend

Could enter there.

-Helen Steiner Rice

Deep in My Heart

Happy Little memories go

flitting through my mind,

And in all my thoughts and

memories I always seem to find

The picture of your face, dear,

the memory of your touch,

And all the other little things

I've come to love so much.

You cannot go beyond my thoughts

or leave my love behind,

Because I keep you in my heart

and forever on my mind...

And though I may not tell you,

I think you know it's true

That I find daily happiness in

the very thought of you.

-Helen Steiner Rice

Friends Are Life's Gift of Love

If people like me didn't know people like you,

Life would lose it's meaning and its richness, too...

For the friends that we make are life's gift of love,

And I think friends are sent right from heaven above...

And thinking of you somehow makes me feel

That God is love and He's very real.

-Helen Steiner Rice

A Gift of Friendship

Friendship is a priceless gift that

cannot be bought or sold,

But its value is far greater than

a mountain made of gold-

For gold is cold and lifeless,

it can neither see nor hear,

And in the time of trouble

it is powerless to cheer.

It has no ears to listen,

no heart to understand;

It cannot bring you comfort

or reach out a helping hand-

So when you ask God for a gift,

be thankful if He sends

Not diamonds, pearls or riches,

but the love of real true friends.

- Helen Steiner Rice

On Life's Busy Thoroughfares We Meet With Angels Unawares

The unexpected kindness from

an unexpected place,

A hand outstretched in friendship,

a smile on someone's face,

A word of understanding

spoken in a time of trial

Are unexpected miracles

that make life more worthwhile.

We know not how it happened

that in an hour of need

Somebody out of nowhere

proved to be a friend indeed...

For God has many messengers

we fail to recognise,

But he sends them when we need them,

and His ways are wondrous and wise...

So keep looking for an angel

and keep listening to hear;

For on life's busy, crowded streets,

you will find God's presence near.

- Helen Steiner Rice

A Friend is a Gift From God

Among the great and glorious

gifts our heavenly Father sends

Is the gift of understanding that

we find in loving friends...

For somehow in the generous

heart of loving, faithful friends,

The good God in His charity

and wisdom always sends

A sense of understanding

and the power of perception

And mixes these fine qualities

with kindness and affection...

So when we need some sympathy

or a friendly hand to touch

Or one who listens tenderly and

speaks words that mean so much,

We seek a true and trusted friend

in the knowledge that we'll find

A heart that's sympathetic

and an understanding mind...

And often just without a word

there seems to be a union

Of thoughts and kindred feelings,

for God gives true friends communion.

- Helen Steiner Rice