Leaves of Life

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIFTH

William Seely died 1521.
Sir Christopher Wren died 1723.
Jane Goodwin Austin born 1831.
Camille Flammarion born 1842.

In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. All other passions do occasionally good; but wherever pride puts in its word everything goes wrong.
--John Ruskin.

He that is proud eats up himself: pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle; and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the praise.
--William Shakespeare.

Save me alike from foolish pride
Or impious discontent;
At aught Thy wisdom hath denied,
Or aught Thy wisdom lent.
--Alexander Pope.

A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.
--Proverbs 29. 23.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may not let pride keep me down when it may be mine to be carried to the heights. With tenderness take me out of myself, that I may see how pride deceives, and destroys an humble spirit. Help me to master both stubbornness and pride. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-SIXTH

Christopher Marlowe (baptized 1564).
Victor Hugo born 1802.
Lord Cromer born 1841.
Thomas Moore died 1852.

When I go down to the grave I can say, like so many others, I have finished my work; but I cannot say I have finished my life; my day's work will begin again the next morning. My tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes in the twilight to open in the dawn.
—Victor Hugo.

There's nothing bright above, below,
From flowers that bloom to stars that glow,
But in the light my soul can see
Some feature of the Deity.

There's nothing dark below, above,
But in its gloom I trace God's love,
And meekly wait that moment when
His truth shall turn all bright again.
—Thomas Moore.

Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants;
And none of them that take refuge in him shall be condemned.
—Psalm 34. 22.

Lord God, may I not only feel the need of thee when I am burdened with sorrow and care, but may I have need of thee in my pleasures and joys. I thank thee for thy gracious kindness, thy mercy and thy protection. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-SEVENTH

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow born 1807.
Ellen Terry born 1848.
Mary F. Robinson born 1857.

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time--

Footprints that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's wintry main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
--Henry W. Longfellow.

They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing, and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth they needs must think;
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three.
--James Russell Lowell.

Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
--Matthew 5. 16.

Merciful Father, help me to know that my shadow cannot fall without me, and that my footprints cannot be found where I have never trodden. I pray that thou wilt make me so familiar with the right path that it may be mine to have the privilege of leading others to the right places. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWENTY-EIGHTH

Montaigne born 1533.
Mary Lyon born 1797.
Sir John Tenniel born 1820.

Soul, rule thyself; on passion, deed, desire,
Lay thou the laws of thy deliberate will.
Stand at thy chosen post, Faith's sentinel:
Though Hell's lost legions ring thee round with fire,
Learn to endure.
--Arthur Symonds.

The confidence in another man's virtue is no slight evidence of a man's own, and God willingly favors such a confidence.
--Montaigne.

Though a host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear:
Though war should rise against me,
Even then will I be confident.
--Psalm 27. 3.

My Father, may I ever be kept in remembrance of my virtue, and may I be sensitive to its strength. As I go on my way, keep me within control of the impetuous desires of my nature, and in call of the duties and obligations of my daily life. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH FIRST

Alexander Balfour born 1767.
Frederick François Chopin born 1809.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens born 1848.
William Dean Howells born 1837.

Thy soul shall enter on its heritage
Of God's unuttered wisdom. Thou shalt sweep
With hand assured the ringing lyre of life,
Till the fierce anguish of its bitter strife,
Its pain, death, discord, sorrow, and despair,
Break into rhythmic music. Thou shalt share
The prophet-joy that kept forever glad
God's poet-souls when all a world was sad.
Enter and live! Thou hast not lived before.
--S. Weir Mitchell.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
For Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
Mine eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
--Psalm 116. 7, 8.

Almighty God, grant that I may never be so discouraged that I feel my life has been spent. Help me to so live, that I may not follow into hopeless days, but look for the bright and beautiful in to-morrow. Forgive me for all that I have asked for and accepted through willful judgment, and make me more careful in selecting my needs. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH SECOND

Juvenal born A. D. 40.
John Wesley died 1791.
Horace Walpole died 1797.

Nature never says one thing, Wisdom another.
—Juvenal.

By all means, use some times to be alone;
Salute thyself—see what thy soul doth wear;
Dare to look in thy chest, for 'tis thine own,
And tumble up and down what thou findest there.

—William Wordsworth.

Lonesomeness is part of the cost of power. The higher you climb, the less can you hope for companionship. The heavier and the more immediate the responsibility, the less can a man delegate his tasks or escape his own mistakes.
—Shailer Mathews.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
—Matthew 6. 6.

My Father, I pray that thou wilt take care of my thoughts when I am alone and tired, and keep them strong and clean. Grant that while I commune with thee I may yield to my needs and be restored with keener energy for worthier deeds. May I ask of thy wisdom every day. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH THIRD


Edmund Waller born 1605.
George Herbert died 1633.
Christine Nilsson born 1843.

Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high,
So shalt thou humble and magnanimous be;
Sink not in spirit: who aimeth at the sky,
Shoots higher than he that means a tree.
--George Herbert.

We and God have business with each other; and in opening ourselves to his influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled.
--William James.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
--2 Corinthians 4. 18.

Almighty God, help me to remember that "the power of character is the highest point of success," and that thou hast put within reach of all the choice ideals of life. May I have the desire to cultivate strong purposes, and strive for high endeavors, that I may not aim for the low. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH FOURTH


Casimer Pulaski born 1748.
Sir Henry Raeburn born 1756.
E. W. Bull, originator Concord grape, born 1806.
Alexander Graham Bell born 1847.

It is perfectly obvious that men do necessarily absorb, out of the influences in which they grow up, something which gives a complexion to their whole after-character.
--Anthony Froude.

All common things, each day's events
That with the hour begin and end,
Our pleasures and our discontents
Are rounds by which we may ascend.
--Henry W. Longfellow.

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
--Shakespeare.

And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
--1 Samuel 17. 49.

My Father, I would remember that my life may decline from the neglect of small things; for as thou dost nourish the wheat from flakes of snow, and supply the springs from drops of rain, so thou wilt strengthen my soul from every little blessing. I pray that I may not forget to watch my habits, and keep track of the hours that culture and sustain my life. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH FIFTH

Correggio died 1534.
Howard Pyle born 1853.
Arthur Foote born 1853.

When I have the time so many things I'll do,
To make life happier and more fair
For those whose lives are crowded now with care,
I'll help to lift them from their low despair
When I have time.
When I have time the friend I love so well
Shall know no more the weary, toiling days;
I'll lead his feet in pleasant paths always,
And cheer his heart with words of sweetest praise,
When I have time.
Now is the time! Speed, friend; no longer wait
To scatter loving smiles and words of cheer
To those around whose lives are drear;
They may not need you in the far-off year:
Now is the time.
--Unknown.

Behold now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
--2 Corinthians 6. 2.

Lord God, teach me this day to know that the veriest trifle often keeps happiness alive, and that the smallest trifle often may kill it. I pray that now thou wilt put within my heart that touch of love, which brings consideration for others, and the care that brings the greatest happiness. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

March 6

Michael Angelo Buonarroti born 1475.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning born 1806.
George du Maurier born 1831.

Beloved, let us love so well
Our work shall still be better for our love,
And still our love be sweeter for our work:
And both commended for the sake of each
By all true workers and true lovers born.
--Elizabeth B. Browning.

Earth saddens, never shall remove,
Affections purely given;
And e'en that mortal grief shall prove
The immortality of love,
And heighten it with heaven.
--Elizabeth B. Browning.

And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
--1 Corinthians 13. 3.

Loving Father, I pray that I may not try to change the standard of love by grafting on my own selfishness and infirmities. May I remember that it is mostly for gratification that love is held to the base in life; may I follow it to the summits, where it is divine. Amen.