Part 9
_It is very interesting to watch a plant grow, it is like taking part in creation. When all outside is cold and white, when the little children of the woodland are gone to their nurseries in the warm earth and the empty nests on the bare trees filled with snow, my window-garden glows and smiles, making summer within while it is winter without. It is wonderful to see flowers bloom in the midst of a snow-storm! I have felt a bud "shyly doff her green hood and blossom with a silken burst of sound," while the icy fingers of the snow beat against the window panes. What secret power, I wonder, caused this blossoming miracle? What mysterious force guided the seedling from the dark earth up to the light, through leaf and stem and bud, to glorious fulfilment in the perfect flower? Who could have dreamed that such beauty lurked in the dark earth, was latent in the tiny seed we planted? Beautiful flower, you have taught me to see a little way into the hidden heart of things. Now I understand that the darkness everywhere may hold possibilities better than even my hopes._
HELEN KELLER.
Grant us, O God, this day, vitality of brain and heart, to lay hold on the ordinary events and experiences of life, and transmute them into beautiful and permanent values for ourselves and others. May we have courage, love and faithfulness, to conquer adversities and fulfil our duties. And should the winter of discontent and disappointment beat without against our souls, even so may Thy Kingdom come. Amen.
JULIUS P. WEST.
May 23
_Brother--there is no payment in the world! We work and pour our labor at the feet Of those who are around us and to come. We live and take our living at the hands Of those who are around us and have been. No one is paid. No person can have more Than he can hold. And none can do beyond The power that's in him. To each child that's born Belongs as much of all our human good As he can take and use to make him strong._
_And from each man, debtor to all the world, Is due the fullest fruit of all his powers, His whole life's labor, proudly rendered up, Not as return--can moments pay an age? But as the simple duty of a man. Can he do less--receiving everything?_
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.
O, Thou Most Bountiful Giver! We thank Thee this morning for all the conveniences and comforts, the stored knowledge and acquired wisdom, the inspirations and encouragements of our daily life. Truly others have lived as Thy children and labored as Thy servants, by mind and hand and heart, and we are wondrously permitted to enter into the fruits of their labours. Grant unto us this day, O Father, so to strive and so to live that some other life may be cheered and blessed by the spirit and by the fruit of our day's service. May our thoughts and words and deeds somehow express our gratitude for the blessings which we are constantly receiving. Amen.
WILLIAM H. GOULD.
May 24
_What a wonderful thing it is to meet a man or woman whose manners are instantly open and free--opening up a direct road between him or her and yourself!_
EDWARD CARPENTER.
_There is a world in us that God keeps to himself, except when He calls some few souls, with special errand for us, to receive a glimpse. It is full of life, and growths, and wonders, that are to be developed and revealed. We ourselves know not what we shall be; but He knows that we shall be like Him.... It is the world of the spiritual microscope._
MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.
Our Father and Mother God,--we have cried for Thee as little children cry for parental love to wait upon their wants, and, like babes that cry, we have looked for Thee in nothing else. We would be now Thy sons and daughters of a larger growth, who learn to find Thee in a more complete and blessed fellowship of service and sacrifice with Thee, of united thought and will with Thine, of such living as shares in Thy perfect and eternal life. Help us so to be and so to live that even in ourselves we may get glimpses of Thine infinite good will and faithfulness, and show in our human lives, that God is in His world and all is well. Amen.
GEORGE W. KENT.
May 25
_What are we set on earth for? Say to toil: Nor to seek to leave the tending of thy vines, For all the heat of the day, till it declines, And death's mild curfew shall from work assoil. God did anoint thee with His odorous oil To wrestle, not to reign; and he assigns All thy tears over, like pure crystallines, For younger fellow-workers of the soil To wear for amulets. So others shall Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, And God's grace fructify through thee to all. The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, And share its dewdrop with another near._
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.
Our Father In Heaven, we devoutly thank Thee for that ceaseless and refreshing tide of blessing that, from the reservoir of Thine exhaustless goodness, flows into our hearts and lives. And we further thank Thee that among the choicest of those blessings, is the one of being, not merely the receptacles of this inflow, but also co-workers with Thee, and with Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in carrying forward to successful issue Thy beneficent purposes of grace and salvation. Grant us, we beseech Thee, day by day, such an infusion of Thy Holy Spirit as shall fittingly equip us for the gladsome and effective discharge of the duties of this divine relation, and its exalted privileges. All of which grant for Thy mercy's sake. Amen.
CHARLES P. NASH.
May 26
_The deepest secret of life is love. Without love there is no enthusiasm, and without ideals there is no enthusiasm. We freeze our hearts by selfishness, and stifle them by sordidness. We fix our eyes upon the little field circumscribed by our day's activities and ends. With no wide-reaching affection and no uplifting ideal, we make of our life a treadmill and of our duty an unwelcome drudgery. We disclaim the highest endowment of the soul and deny our sonship to God. Narrow faiths and narrow hopes put fetters on the spirit, and small affections keep small the heart._
PHILIP S. MOXOM.
Our Father, every morning is a fresh witness of Thy loving kindness. When we sleep the vigils of Thy love are round about us. At the threshold of this new day, may it please Thee to inspire us with lofty aims, so that we may rise out of our selfish selves into conscious kinship with Thee. Help us to know the mystery of love, how limitless and all-conquering it is. Animated by its sweet law, may we go out into this great, needy world with hearts to sympathize and words to cheer and hands to minister. Then we shall know the divine sweetness of our Christian faith, the joy of Christlike living; we shall know that love is the fulfilling of the law. Amen.
Q. H. SHINN.
May 27
_Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new. You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you, A hope for me and a hope for you._
_Every day is a fresh beginning; Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning, And puzzles forecasted and possible pain, Take heart with the day, and begin again._
SUSAN COOLIDGE.
O Thou, who makest all things new, we are glad each day is not only a new day but one unlike any before it. Everything breathes freshness and newness of life; a new heaven is over our heads, a new earth beneath our feet. We know this day will be full of new opportunities for work, new scenes for pleasure, new chances to make better our lives. If yesterday was not all we could wish, if there were failures in duty, or loss of faith in ourselves, and Thy great love, may this be filled with larger faith, greater hope, complete love. May we so take heart in this quiet morning hour, that we may be brave and faithful all the day, so that in spite of old sorrows and older sins, the memory of which may now and then shadow our way, we may find ourselves when the evening shall come, nearer heaven in heart and life, and more worthy to be called Thy children. Amen.
WILLIAM F. POTTER.
May 28
_O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.... He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear._
RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
_There is no storm but this Of your own cowardice That braves you out; You are the storm that mocks Yourself; you are the rocks Of your own doubt; Besides this fear of danger there's no danger here And he that here fears danger does deserve his fear._
RICHARD CRASHAW.
Thou knowest, O Lord, the weakness of our human nature, and how prone we are not only to shrink from the difficulties and to tremble at the dangers which lie in our way, but to allow imaginary difficulties and dangers to hinder us from living as Thy children should. Help us, we pray Thee, to be free from all such fear today. Be Thou our refuge from whatsoever may threaten us, either without or within. Deliver us from faint-heartedness and enable us to stand fast in the glorious liberty of those who fear nothing but to offend against Thee and to wrong their own immortal souls. We ask it as disciples of Christ. Amen.
EDWIN C. SWEETSER.
May 29
_Whichever way the wind doth blow, Some heart is glad to have it so; Then blow it east or blow it west, The wind that blows, that wind is best._
_My little craft sails not alone: A thousand fleets from every zone Are out upon a thousand seas; And what for me were favoring breeze Might dash another, with the shock Of doom, upon some hidden rock. And so I do not dare to pray For winds to waft me on my way, But leave it to a Higher Will To stay or speed me; trusting still That all is well, and sure that He Who launched my bark will sail with me Through storm and calm, and will not fail, Whatever breezes may prevail, To land me, every peril past, Within His sheltering heaven at last._
CAROLINE ATWATER MASON.
O Lord let us know that we do not sail life's seas alone. Thou art the God of the storms. Thou goest with us whithersoever we go. Grant us, our Heavenly Father, that we may not suffer shipwreck of our faith. Grant us that the voyage of our lives may be prosperous, and that at last, whether soon or late we shall find some harbor of rest and peace. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
May 30
_Our Memorial Day celebrations will be but a hypocritical play-acting unless they shall remind us of the cause and the country for which our brave soldiers gave their lives. It is not enough for us to recall their names and sing their praises. We must love the country they loved and in our turn be ready to do the hero's part._
GEORGE L. PERIN.
_But what is it to love one's country? Is it to carry a banner in a procession? Is it to shout as we see the flag? Is it to fling bunting from the tops of the buildings, and send off sky-rockets in the evenings? Vastly deeper than that is love of country, deeper than any soldier's uniform, deeper than any pictures of battleships with which we adorn our walls._
W. H. P. FAUNCE.
God of the Nations, we thank Thee today for every heroic deed of every heroic soul. We rejoice that in every hour of real emergency there have ever been men who were ready to die for their country. O Lord, may the memory of their sacrifice ever remain to us and to the children of coming generations a sacred heritage. Yet, O Lord, let us not be satisfied to glorify their deeds with a memory. Let us do them the higher honor of consecrating our lives to the service of the country they loved. So shall we, in the honor we render them find the title to our honor. Thus in _our_ land and in _our_ time may Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done. Amen.
GEORGE L. PERIN.
May 31
_To be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than your dislikes; to covet nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends, and every day of Christ; and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors--these are little guide-posts on the footpath to peace._
HENRY VAN DYKE.
O Thou God of peace and of love. How shall we come to Thee? How shall we share Thy strength and know Thy life? Let us commune with Thy gracious spirit and so learn Thy way. How beautiful the vision which prayer unfolds to us when we worship in spirit and truth! We see the virtues which ennoble and sanctify other lives. Sweet and tender patience appears and in her light ruffled and distorted tempers are subdued and clothed in their right mind. Faith is seen and as irresolution and doubt take their flight, confident trust and cherished conviction appear in magnetic power. So, O Lord, would we read the signs which other lives present. So would we strengthen our own aspirations and make real the vision. So, O Father, would we find Thy peace. Amen.
AUGUSTINE N. FOSTER.
June 1
_A season for simple living with the kindly sun and the blue sky, days of keen delight in little things, of joyous questing after beauty, days for the making of true friends by being a true friend to others, days when we may enlarge our little lives by excursions to strange places, by friendly association, by the companionship of great thoughts, days that may teach us to live nobly, to work joyously, to play harder, to do our labor better. So should each June bring us indeed a golden summer._
EDWIN OSGOOD GROVER.
Heavenly Father, Thou givest all good things. We thank Thee for life and hope and cheer. In gratitude we consecrate this day to blessing Thy children, and so to serving Thee who hast said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto these, ye have done it unto Me." Teach us the gladness of a life responsive to Thy messages through Nature. Grant us the joy of making friends by being friendly with our fellow men. Whatsoever we may do, at work or at play, may it be in the spirit of the Saviour. We begin this day with Thee. By its ministries may our comrades be helped and our lives together be made nobler, stronger, and well-pleasing in Thy sight. Amen.
MAURICE A. LEVY.
June 2
_Over the shoulders and slopes of the dune, I saw the white daisies go down to the sea, A host in the sunshine, an army in June, The people God sends us to set our hearts free._
_The bobolinks rallied them up from the dell, The orioles whistled them out of the wood, And all of their singing was "Earth, it is well," And all of their dancing was, "Life, Thou art good!"_
BLISS CARMAN.
O Thou, who art the Father of Light and Love, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift, we thank Thee for this new born day, which Thou sendest us, for the splendor of Thy presence in the sunlit sky above us and the blossoming earth beneath; for spring-time flowers that border our paths with loveliness and happy bird song, lifting our hearts to responsive joy and praise. We thank Thee for life and health, for home and friends, for opportunities and duties, for temptations and trials, yea, for the very sorrows and bereavements which bring us to ourselves in penitence, to others in sympathy, and to Thee in faith and adoration. Thy will be done! Thy kingdom come! Amen.
CHARLES W. WENDTE.
June 3
_One small life in God's great plan, How futile it seems as the ages roll, Do what it may, or strive how it can, To alter the sweep of the infinite whole! A single stitch in an endless web, A drop in the ocean's flow and ebb! But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost, Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed; And each life that fails of its true intent Mars the perfect plan that its Maker meant._
SUSAN COOLIDGE.
O Thou, the heavenly Father, in whom we live and move, whose life-giving spirit is ever around us like the air we breathe,--we lift our thoughts to Thee in reverence and gladness at the coming of the new day. We are glad for the quiet hours of the night, while the stars shine over us. May we be ready now, with willing and obedient hearts, for the work, the cares, the joys and the friendly converse of the day. We know how small our lives are; may we share the thoughts of Thy infinite mind, may Thy power and beauty, Thy justice and goodness possess us. May our feeble wills be strong to carry the current of the one Good Will that sways the universe. Amen.
CHARLES F. DOLE.
June 4
_I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men._
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
_All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. Whatever it be which the great Providence prepares for us, it must be something large and generous; and in the great style of His works. The future must be up to the style of our faculties, of memory, of hope, of imagination, of reason._
RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
O Thou, who in Thy greatness holds the planets on their way, and in Thy providence guides the sparrow's flight, and in Thy tenderness marks the sparrow's fall, may we not be blind to Thy foot-prints in the events of every day, but see them guiding our way and feel more and more Thy love. Father, we ask not for great things, but we ask Thee to help us in the little needs and longings that fill our every day, to be the strength of our every endeavor, that in our daily walk, we may feel that the earth is warm with life and joy, that the air is full of strength, that there comes to us from every side some message, sweet and tender, if only we can be patient, trustful, believing that all things work together for good to them who seek to do Thy will Amen.
JOSHUA YOUNG.
June 5
_And do not fear to hope. Can poet's brain More than the Father's heart rich good invent? Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent, We know the primrose time will come again; Not more we hope, nor less would soothe our pain. Be bounteous in our faith, for not misspent Is confidence unto the Father lent: Thy need is sown and rooted for his rain, His thoughts are as thine own; nor are his ways Other than thine, but by their loftier sense Of beauty infinite and love intense. Work on! One day, beyond all thought of praise A sunny joy will crown thee with its rays; Nor other than thy need, thy recompense._
GEORGE MACDONALD.
Our Father, in the gratitude of loved and loving children we thank Thee for life and all the faith and hope and love Thy goodness has awakened in our souls. For the splendors of the world and the greater splendor of the mind radiant with Thy love, we bow in rapture and adoration. Overwhelmed at times by the mysteries and vicissitudes of life, we will trust Thy will to lead us out of darkness into the light of Thine informing spirit of truth and wisdom. Conscious of our weakness and needs, we rejoice that strength and supply are assured to us in the permanence of Thy Fatherhood. Lead us more and ever more to realize that in Thee we live and move and have our being. Amen.
RICHMOND FISK.
June 6
_When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose He shouldn't be a-thinkin' of the thorn; He must woo it, he must win it-- Where his heart beats he must pin it An' breathe the breath that's in it Every morn!_
_When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose He shouldn't see the thorn beneath its breast, But for all its thorny foes. Red and reckless,--one poor rose Is sweet enough, God knows, For the best._
FRANK L. STANTON.
O Lord, our God, so great is our life we may find that for which we look,--the good or the bad. Send us into this day with eyes searching for the good. Beholding it may we admire it and admiring it we shall become like it changed into the same image from character to character by the Spirit. May we be more concerned to do right than not to do wrong. Save us from a humility that is weakness and give us largeness of life without pride. May we want nothing so much as opportunity,--opportunity to be, to do, to suffer. May we not strive for bigness but for fitness and may our reception of the Christ be our forgiveness and our salvation for His name's sake. Amen.
T. C. MARTIN.
June 7
_The beauty of work depends upon the way we meet it,--whether we arm ourselves each morning to attack it as an enemy that must be vanquished before night comes, or whether we open our eyes with the sunrise to welcome it as an approaching friend who will keep us delightful company all day, and who will make us feel at evening, that the day was well worth its fatigues._
LUCY LARCOM.
Our Heavenly Father, Thou givest us light for the hours of labor and darkness for the hours of slumber. We toil and then we rest. We sleep and then we arise, to perform the tasks which await us. Convince us, O God, that the life which Thou hast given us to live is more than working that we may rest, and resting that we may work. Persuade us that it is for some great and good end. Help us to understand that even as we live in Thee so Thou dost fulfil Thine eternal purposes in and through us. Teach us that our smallest effort is important to Thee. So may we dread no duty. So may every moment of every day be precious in our sight. Amen.
ROGER S. FORBES.
June 8
_And those who heard the Singers three Disputed which the best might be; For still their music seemed to start Discordant echoes in each heart._
_But the great Master said, "I see No best in kind, but in degree; I gave a various gift to each, To charm, to strengthen, and to teach._
_"These are the three great chords of might, And he whose ear is tuned aright, Will hear no discord in the three, But the most perfect harmony."_
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.
O God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy mercies new every morning, and fresh every evening, but especially we bless Thee that Thou callest us to Thy service and kingdom by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and hast vouchsafed to each of us some gracious gift whereby we may accomplish Thy holy will concerning us. Grant that we may so improve and use that pearl of price as to enhance greatly the welfare of Thy children. Help each to see the good in all, and all to see the good in each, that all may strive together in sinless and sweet accord for the common weal and thus for the glory of Thy name, and so hasten the happy day when all souls shall be one, as prayed the Saviour of the world. Amen.
ALFRED P. PUTNAM.
June 9
_Men talk sometimes as if the passage of a ship through the sea or a bird through the air is a fit symbol of man's passage through this world. I do not think so. A better symbol would be the passage of a plough through the soil leaving a furrow behind. What does the furrow include? All the memory of every beautiful picture and landscape you have ever seen. It includes the memory of every experience, every sweet association, every tie of love, whether of father, mother, wife or children. All these, whether living or dead, speak to you. They have a voice, a language that you will understand._
GEORGE L. PERIN.