Are All the Children In?

From the Grand Forks Daily Herald, January 9, 1915.

The darkness falls, the wind is high,
Dense black clouds fill the western sky
    The storm will soon begin;
The thunders roar, the lightnings flash
I hear the great round raindrops dash—
    Are all the children in?

They’re coming softly to my side;
Their forms within my arms I hide;
    No other arms are sure;
The storm may rage with fury wild;
With trusting faith each little child
    With mother feels secure.

But future days are drawing near;
They’ll go from this warm shelter here
    Out in the world’s wild din;
The rain will fall, the cold winds blow,
I’ll sit alone and long to know
    Are all the children in?

Will they have shelter then secure,
Where hearts are waiting strong and sure,
    And love is true when tried?
Or will they find a broken reed,
When strength of heart they so much need
    To help them brave the tide?

God knows it all; His will is best;
I’ll shield them now, and yield the rest
    In His most righteous hands,
Sometimes the souls He loves are riven
By tempests wild, and thus are driven
    Nearer the better land.

If he should call us home before
The children land on that blest shore,
    Afar from care and sin,
I know that I shall watch and wait,
Till He, the keeper of the gate,
    Lets all the children in.