Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)…a brilliant British poet, wrote these timeless, beautiful words.

They were famously read out loud by King George VI in his Royal Christmas Message of 1939.

I only had space for the first verse…here is the rest of the poem.

The Gate of The Year

'God Knows'

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 heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life's stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God's thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill

the details:

• the leather started out as natural, vegetable tanned cowhide.

• I slightly distressed the leather and then wrote the words, one letter at a time, with metal press letters. The letters were first dipped into a black permanent ink.

• I then added a mahogany antique stain over top of the letters and the leather. This was rubbed in until l I achieved the tone I was looking for.

• the inside sleeves are a dark brown, oil tanned cowhide.

• tan stitch detailing

• dimensions of journal cover: 8 1/4 inches x 10 3/4 inches

• a large moleskin journal is included (lined or unlined)