In God we trust

AT the start of 2012, we recall both the tragedies and traumas of the past year as well as the blessings that have been bestowed on us as individuals, as families and as a
nation. None of us know what lies in store for us, except to believe in God and trust Him to guide and help us in our lives and in our commitments throughout the year and beyond.

Minnie Louise Haskins, an American who studied and then taught at the London School of Economics, wrote in 1908 one of the most inspiring poems, entitled God Knows, about the unknown future that lies ahead of us.

The opening lines of that poem, quoted by King George VI in the famous The King's Speech, delivered on Christmas Day 1939 as Britain faced its second world war in a generation, read as follows:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'

So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So let us put our hands into the Hand of God this New Year, for it shall be better than light and safer than a known way.

Rueben Dudley
Petaling Jaya