The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1862-12-10
LITTLE BY LITTLE.

Do my dear young friends ever think
how almost all that i good comes to US
Did you ever see farmer planting and
sowing? Down in the moist earth goes the
seed. grain by grain. and little by little.
God sees the farmer at bis work, and knows
full well that he has done what he could !;
SO he kindly sends the gentle rain, drop by
drop; and not one of these little drops ever
forgets its errand--the pleasant errand up
on which the good God sent it to the earth.
!" / have found you out" says the rain drop
to the tiny grain of wheat; " though you
are dead and in your grave, God has sent
me to raise you up" Well, there is nothing
impossible with Him; so when the rain
drop has done its errand, spark of life
shoots out from the very heart of the tiny
grain, which makes its way out Of the tomb
aud stands, a single blade, in the warm
sunlight. That is nobly done; and if the
great God pleased. he could make that lit
tie blade strong aud fruitful in single mo-
ment. Does He do this No; little by
little does the stalk wax strong; and its
leaves grow slowly, leaf by leaf. .
Is il not SO with everything that is good?
Should we like another way better? I'M
patience would. a..
IL is only the other day heard little
girl say. :" am tired. tired, tired Here
is whole stocking to knit; stitch by stitch !!
1t will never be done -
" But was not this one knit stitch by
stitchf" | asked, taking long one from
her basket and holding it up.
Yes"
Well, this is done.'
The little girl was counting instead of
knitting her stitches. M wonder that she
was tired.
Did you ever see a mason building a
house Of brick? "Poor maui" Impatience
would say, "what an undertaking start
from the earth, and go so far towards the
sky. brick by brickw o no sir, People
can get nearer the sky than that, and upon
the same principle too, only we call it step
by step. Some little children know that
the world has wandered far away from God.
He meant. that we should be happy; but
mankind have chosen the path Of dlsobed-
ence and misery, and 50 lost their way;
mean the way back to holiness and peace.
You know who came to be our way, 50 that
we might not be forever lost. But even 10
this way we have to 60 step by step. Child.
rem should know this, 50 as not to be dis
outraged when they are trying to be good.
Indeed this necessity Of doing things little
by little, step by step, drop by drop. need
be no dscouragement Listen now, and see
if you do hear voice saying, " Try, try,
try" who ever saw patient, persevering
person try, aud not succeed at last? So
then, step by step, which is Gods way,
must be the best way.
Let US sec that we do every day what we
can. Any little boy or girl who. in looking
back upon the day gone by, can say, 81
have done one thing WE'LL" may be happy
with the thought that they have taken one
step in the way Of wisdom aud virtue. But
remember one thing. dear little friends, the
buried grain Of wheat would never start
into life if God did not send it help; and
it IS by the same help that It increases day
by day. As the little ain-drop - Gods
beautiful messenger - descenJs into its
tomb, so in the darkness and death of sin