Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-01-12

The Discipline Of Failure.
Do you remem Der how hard It was in
the days # our childhood, to be contented
under the shadow Of some great disap-
pOintment? You had set your heart
strongly on some anticipated pleasure
and it WIS far more bitter than any grown
person suspected. to put aside the purple
and fine linen of that fair hope. and rs
sumo the everyday raiment of the com
Portable and common place. We learn rs
we 60 on in life to conceal our feelings of
pain even when most acute, and to wear
smiles when tears are near the eyes, hat
we may shed no cloud on others sunshine
but perhaps we never learn to accept trial
and care rs we ought until we are in the
Beulah land, which is on the border of the
heavenly rest. Thinking of this matter
of the discipline of failure, am persua
ded that there are few who do not exper-
ience it, and few therefore who do not re-
quire it, for God gives US individually and
daily that which isbest for our growth in
grace. The strange part of it is, however,
that sometimes our failures are, as it were,
underlined in our own consciousness like
the emphatic words in a sentence, and we
fail oflenest and most conspicuously in the
very places where we have ALWAYS sup
posed ourselves to be strongest. You are
Sunday school teacher. Yours is the
service of almost half lifetime. You
love the work. and you attend faithfully to
its responsibilities according to your light.
| AS for preparation of the lesson, for
personal influence with the scholar, for
secret prayer, conscience acquits you of
neglect in any of these particulars. But
the one thing you long for most earnestly
is delayed Your scholars admire you,
love you, emulate you in certain ways,
but still they do not come to Christ. You
are very likely to forget that you are but
the sowor of good seed, and that till the
Spirit move on the youthful hearts you
must wait for their conversion. You are
very likely to grow weary and depressed,
and not to accept in the right frame OF
mind this discipline of failure in what
most you desire.
The failure may be of more mortity-
ing nature than this-more humiliating,
that is, to IA very natural pride and sense
of self respect. There is a bright, pretty
girl, whom you have specially liked for
some captivating qualities or solid excel
Iences of character. You try to win her
confidence. You do not succeed. You
are baffled, puzzled. grieved to find your
self evaded, and surprised at your lack of
attraction for person who has so many
and so decided attractions for you. After
a while. your pupil leaves you for some
other class, and there she thrives and
blossoms like IA flower transported from a
chilly to kindlier atmosphere. 1t may
be that the case is still more pronounced
as failure on your part, for your scholar
may leave your school altogether, in these
days of irresponsible parents, and some day
you meet her and she tells you how con
genial she finds it at st. Eunices and how
happy she has been since she became
established there Failures of this sor
are very common. Are we to grow useC
to them, to regard them as among the
inseparable evils of city life, to mourn
over them rs showing some flaw or defec
in ourselves; or to look upon them as par
of our own training in patience and faith
Probably the last, Perhaps, when we
notice how hard it is to take such events
sweetly, prayerfully, and with sincere
gladneSs that the Masters work is being
done, although by other hands than ours
we become convinced that we are still fa
from being fully sanctiiied. All! this up
lifting of self when instead we shoult
elevate the Gross; this caring for our hur
sensibilties when we should want NOR
than all else that the Lords will may bt
done-these are sometimes revolotio,
indeed to our hearts, of their sinfunes
and darkness,
The discipline of failure may come t.
you in other ways. You are an artist
For years you have striven to do som
good work, seeing ever before you som,
Beautiful ideal You toll early and late
You neglect nothing. You are severe il
your self. criticism, unsparing in self.cen
sure and rigid in following the truth
But madonna eyes look on you in tn
air, but never from the plcture," and 10
when your hair is silver threaded, an,
your hand is losing its cunning, some la
with lads light debonair ways and
lads fresh enthusiasm, does withou
seeming effort what you have never don
with all your care. How many hav
known this bitterness which comes to th
poet, the author and the scholar, as we
as TO the painter and sculptor. Shall yo
be jealousP Shall you decry the merit
vi liiiI Whi1u an hiC pihiSilS9 cud
i you stoop to meanness and refuse t
discern the promise of genius and il
quick fulfilments? Not so if failur,
coming after honest labor, have wrougl
in you its divine beauty so that you al
, more than the work of your hands.
l Failure reaches you in other ways, an
subtler and finer are the soul issues
t sometimes touches. You have frient
dearly loved and closely guarded in yor
heart. Your friend fails you, perhar
says unkind things of you. Well say
the wise man. that brother offended
e harder to be won than strong cit,
Shall you be downcast because huma
being, seeing, plrtially, knowing little {
5 the springs which animate conduct IN
!; + easily entertaining prejudice, has acte
without loyaltyand entertained malice an
guile instead of love and forbearance
e Whoever you are, public tracher or pr
vate citizen, clothed upon with officii
4 honors or quietly pursuing the even tent
your way at home, you must not was
J. your time in morbid sorrow over this so
, of failure If it has been another's ar
not yours, take it us sent upon you fc
some good purpose, and 90 on wtM 20,
eOorb -ChriSti'm htehtgencer.