In Heaven's Garden by Martha Snell Nicholson

This weekend I finished a short out of print book In Heaven's Gardens.

"Margaret Snell Nicholson was a woman who suffered from four incurable diseases. She struggled with pain more than thirty-five years, an invalid, bound to her bed.  Her spirit was so transcendently triumphant through those many weary years, that she wrote some of the finest Christian poetry which has ever been written."

I have found some of her poetry to be incredibly moving. 

The book is 128 pages long. Her subject matter is mostly her relationship with God, however, there are a few about her marriage and love. It begins with a word from her husband sharing some biographical information. Near the end is a reprint of some of her writing when she was 15-16 years old. The poems vary in style and length, however, no poem is over two pages long.  

My favorite poem from the book is Youth Delinquency because of its realism and candor: 

Youth Delinquency
(First Deep Sins) 

Strange that my hands remain so white
Though I dip my feet in sin;
Strange that my face still glows with light
Though my heart is black within

Strange that my fellow thinks me good,
Immaculate and true,
Strange how my heart goes wondering,
Are they all sin-stained too?