Oh, God of Love, oh Father-heart,
In whom my trust is founded,
I know full well how good Thou art--
E'en when by grief I am wounded.

Oh Lord, it surely can not be
That Thou wilt let me languish
In hopeless depths of misery,
And live in tears of anguish.

Oh Lord, my soul yearns for thine aid
In this dark vale of weeping;
For thee I've waited, hoped and prayed
Assured of thy safe keeping.

Lord let me bear whate'er thy Love
May send of grief or sorrow,
Until Thou, in thy Heaven above
Make dawn a brighter morrow.


And in the midst of her urgent praying, the mother's tears flowed
abundantly, and little Toni, deeply moved in his heart by his mother's
weeping and earnest prayer, kept his hands folded and wept softly too.

So the time passed. Elsbeth struggled along and little Toni was able to
help her in many ways, for he was now seven years old. He was his mother's
only joy, and she was able to take delight in him for he was obedient and
willing to do everything she desired. He had always been so inseparable
from his mother that he knew exactly how the tasks of the day had to be