Leaves of Life

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH

Galileo Galilei born 1564.
Louis XV born 1710.
S. Weir Mitchell born 1829.
Sir Frederick Treves born 1853.

The night I know is nigh at hand,
The mists lie low on hill and bay,
The autumn sheaves are brown and dry,
But I have had the day.


Yes, I have had, dear Lord, the day.
When at thy call I have the night
Brief be the twilight as I pass
From light to dark, from dark to light.
--S. Weir Mitchell.

If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small--too small to be worth talking about, for the day of adversity is its first real opportunity.
--Maltbie Babcock.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
--Romans 8. 37.

My Father, may my daily work not be the means of separating me from thee, but may I have thee for my companion through my work. Forbid that I should ever submit to despair from weakness of body, but that I may be blest and grow strong as my spirit lives in thee. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY SIXTEENTH

Philip Melanchthon born 1497.
Gasper de Coligny born 1517.
Thomas Robert Malthus born 1766.
Ernst Heinrich Haeckel born 1834.

Thy love shall chant its own beatitudes
After its own life working. A child's kiss
Set on thy sighing lips shall make thee glad.
A poor man served by thee shall make thee rich;
A sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong;
Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense
Of service which thou renderest.

—Elizabeth B. Browning.


Ask nothing more of me, sweet;
All I can give you I give.
Heart of my heart, were it more,
More would be laid at your feet:
Love that should help you to live,
Song that should help you to soar.

—Algernon Charles Swinburne.

All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.
—Matthew 7. 12.

Lord God, I pray that I may not neglect the help and happiness that I may give with compassion and love. Make me strong in all the senses that answer to the call of humanity. Help me to guide and protect little children, and to care for the comforts of the old. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY SEVENTEENTH

Kate Greenaway born 1846.
Michael Angelo Buonarroti died 1563.
Giordano Bruno burned at Rome 1600.
Molière died 1673.
Rose Terry Cooke born 1827.
Frances E. Willard died 1898.

It is not much
To give a gentle word or kindly touch
To one gone down
Beneath the world's cold frown,

And yet who knows
How great a thing from such a little grows?
O, oftentimes,
Some brother upward climbs
And hope again
Uplifts its head, that in the dust had lain,
Gives place to morning's light.
--E. H. Divall.

I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.
--Ezekiel 34. 16.

My Father, may I not sorrow so that I fail to comfort the sorrowing, and may I not be so happy that I fail to see that others need to be glad. I thank thee for thy providences. May I serve thee in helping others to brighter lives. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY EIGHTEENTH

Martin Luther died 1546.
George Peabody born 1795.
Wilson Barrett born 1846.

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing:
Our helper he amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great:
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
--Martin Luther.

Let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light that I have.
--Abraham Lincoln.

Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge.
--Psalm 18. 2.

Lord God, help me to lay my life in the rocks of thy foundation, and not in moving sands which are tossed from shore to shore. May I cling to the rock that was cleft for me and trust for thy care. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY NINETEENTH

Copernicus born 1473.
Leonard Bacon born 1802.
W. W. Story born 1819.
Adelina Patti born 1843.

So mine are these new fruitings rich,
The simple to the common brings;
I keep the youth of souls who pitch
Their joy in this old heart of things;

Full lasting is the song, though he
The singer passes; lasting too,
For souls not lent in usury,
The rapture of the forward view.
George Meredith.

All deep things are Song. It seems, somehow, the very central essence of us, Song; as if all the rest were wrappages and hulls! the primal element of us; of us, and all things.
Thomas Carlyle.

Ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah.
Isaiah 30. 29.

Lord God, help me to feel the power of praise. "As words without thoughts never to heaven go," so the highest praises are never sung alone, but rendered with service and love. May I have the heart to sing thy praises far and near, and rejoice in him from whom all blessings flow. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTIETH

J. H. Voss born 1828.
Joseph Jefferson born 1829
Mihaly Munkacsy (Michael Lieb) born 1844.

Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
Voltaire.

Lo, Spring comes forth with all her warmth and love,
She brings sweet justice from the realms above;
She breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead;
Two butterflies ascend encircling her head.
And so this emblem shall forever be
A sign of immortality.
Joseph Jefferson.

Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Psalm 73. 24.

Lord God, I pray that I may not neglect my soul in trying to fathom immortal life. If I may be hesitating between comfort and work, remind me of the greatness of the place which I started to reach. May I not grow weary of climbing and falter on the stair. Breathe upon me thy inspiration and love, that I may continue in faith all the way. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIRST

Edmund William Gosse born 1849.
Karl Czerny born 1791.
Cardinal John H. Newman born 1801.
Jean L. E. Meissonier born 1815.
Alice Freeman Palmer born 1855.

Prune thou thy words, the thoughts control
That o'er thee swell and throng;
They will condense within thy soul,
And change to purpose strong.
--John H. Newman.


Think truly, and thy thoughts
Shall the world's famine feed;
Speak truly, and each word of thine
Shall be a fruitful seed;
Live truly, and thy life shall be
A great and noble creed.
--Horatio Bonar.

We ought to love everybody and make everybody love us. Then everything else is easy.
--Alice Freeman Palmer.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.
--Isaiah 58. 8.

Almighty God, look upon me with pity; so often I have obeyed the thoughts that have been misleading and profitless. Make me more careful of what I think and say, and may I learn from my mistakes the forbidden paths. Help me to keep my mind in unity with thy will. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-SECOND

George Washington, Virginia, first President United States, born 1732.
James Russell Lowell born 1819.
Margaret E. Sangster born 1838.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
--George Washington.

Life is a sheet of paper white
Whereon each one of us may write
His word or two, and then comes night.
Greatly begin! though thou hast time
But for a line, be that sublime.
Not failure, but low aim is crime.
--James Russell Lowell.

God keep us through the common days,
The level stretches white with dust,
When thought is tired, and hands upraise
Their burdens feebly since they must;
In days of slowly fretting care
Then most we need the strength of prayer.
--Margaret E. Sangster.

Make level the path of thy feet,
And let all thy ways be established.
--Proverbs 4. 26.

Lord God, help me to realize the influence of the individual life. And as I would care for my own, may I seek to do for others; and may I not criticize, but help all who are trying to make the world better. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-THIRD

Samuel Pepys born 1633.
George F. Handel born 1685.
George Frederick Watts born 1817.
John Keats died 1821.
Margaret Deland born 1857.

Labor is life! 'tis the still water faileth;
Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth:
Keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth;
Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon.
Labor is glory! the flying cloud lightens;
Only the waving wing changes and brightens,
Idle hearts only the dark future frightens,
Play the sweet keys, wouldst thou keep them in tune.

—Frances S. Osgood.


KEATS

Palled death, with kisses ghostly,
Wooed and won him while too young,
And the world reveres him mostly,
For the songs he might have sung.

—Samuel A. Wood.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
—Isaiah 54. 2.

Almighty God, I pray for the will to do my finest work. Disclose to me if I am being detained by serving selfishness in myself or in others. Lead me to what is right for me to do; and may I diligently tarry in it. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-FOURTH

Samuel Lover born 1797.
Robert Fulton died 1815.
George William Curtis born 1824.

'Tis not to enjoy that we exist,
For that end only; something must be done;
I must not walk in unreproved delight
These narrow bounds, and think of nothing more,
No duty that looks further and no care.
--William Wordsworth.

We weave our thoughts into heart-spun plans,
And weave secure for a fitful day,
But lose in the web of earthly things
The pattern of sublimity.

Shall days spring up as wild vines grow,
Unheeding where they climb or cling?
Consider, child, before you sow,
And wait not until harvesting.
--M. B. S.

Jehovah is my strength and my shield;
My heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped:
Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
And with my song will I praise him.
--Psalm 28. 7.

Loving Father, command my judgment for the influences which I permit to come into my life. Grant that I may not delay my purposes for the lack of comforts which are so often made more than life. With thy strength may I be steadfast in what I would achieve. Amen.