Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-03-12
Too Weary to Go to Church.

Good Company goes to church on
Sunday, and when it asks the reason
WHY others do not it sometimes hears
them say that they are too tired.
Is that a good reason for staying at
home on SundayP Is it not rather a
reason for going to church, Surely
these weary toilers do not intend to
spend the whole Sunday in sleep or in
absolute idleuess. They will get up
and stir about little during the day.
Probably they will take some pains to
make themselves clean and neat in
their attire. They must do that once
week at least, or lapse into compar-
ative barbarism. And in order to
avoid stagnation they must walk out OF
doors to breathe the fresh air and set
the blood in motion. If they do as
much as this, they make all the lhySi-
cal exertion that is required in going
to church; and after they have got
there, they can rest there as well as in
their own houses. The seats are gen.
orally comfortable, the place is quiet,
something is going on that may occupy
the mind, and there is not enough for
worshipers to do, in most Protestant
churches, to weary them overmuch.
The service rarely reaches to the length
of an hour and half; it cannot be par.
ticularly tiresome to sit it out, even il
it is not very brilliant or sensational.
1t has often seemed to us that many
of those who stay at home all day Sun.
day because they are tired make great
mistake; that they are much more
weary on Sunday night than they would
have been if they had gone to church al
least once; that the time must often
drag heavily on Sunday for the lack OF
something to do and to think about, and
that the consciousness of having spent
the day unprofitably must sometimes
add mental disturbance and dissatisfac.
ton to the languor that follows idle.
ness.
Moreover, these tired people would
often find refreshment for their minds
and their hearts in the quiet services OF
the church. They would secure by
means of them change of scene, q
change of mental atmosphere, and the
suggestion of thoughts and motives and
sentiments that are out of the range OF
their daily work. For hard working
mechanic or salesman or housekeepei
or teacher this diversion of the thought
to other than the customary themes
might be the most restful way of spend.
ing portion of the day of rest.
We happen to know of several cases
in which this prescription has been used
with excellent results. Those who
were wont to stay at home because they
were too tired ON Sunday to go tC
church have been induced to try the
experiment of seeking rest for theii
souls as well as their bodies in the
sanctuary for a small part of every
Sunday; and they testify that they have
found what they sought; that the OBJ
servance has proved a refreshment
rather than weariness, and that theil
Sundays never gave them so much gooC
rest when they stayed at home as they
have given them since they formed the
habit of church-going.
We commend the testimony of theil
experience to a multitude of people whC
do not attend church because, as they
say, they arc too tired to go. Perhaps
if they rightly understood the matter
they would say that they were too tireC
to stay at home Good Company.