St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-12-04
To MY Brother aud Sister in
sorrow.

HibihCuI III titc HidplfS JUST Vu'S'N' i'cA
ROOM Would the song in the naples
live, and the song in the home utterly
ceasef Die? thought knew some
thing about death, for had stood
beside many score of open graves !;
but what did it mean that mine should
dieR
That night | kept repeating the doc
tors word. My bonnie child, my
bright-eyed! The little hands just
learning to fashion forms of beauty,
the feet that had run so often by my
side, the tongue singing its sweet
notes of song-does he mean that
these must die? | thought-and it
seemed to me that all the sweet ways
of her babyhood and all the growing
maturities of her childhood were COM
ing before Inc in moment thought
till began to wish | could forget.
But that night slept and did not
even dream. And then through all
the days of May and June and till
August had yielded to September, I
kept saying, "She must die. Yes, aud
God can see it, and my Father can
help it, but He will see and will not
prevent"
We clustered everything in the home
we knelt around it, saying, "Spare,
oh, spare, deliver from our fears ~
But in it all we tried to say, "Thy will,
not mine"; "Nearer, though it be a
cross"
1t was Sunday morning, just as
the light was breaking, that she went
away. Lift me. Take me all in
your arms. Is it another day ?" and
then we held only beautiful ruin. |
wonder now that did not weep, and
that we could with such composure
take up the ruin and bear it away to
rest under the shadow of the noun
tains, in the old New England church
yard. For now | will not shrink from
confessing it, and | know that my
Father will not chide me as if it were
a deadly sin, if could once more clasp
in my arms even the shattered caslet
out of which the jewel had departed, |
do not think ! could consent to it's be
ing hidden forever from my sight. |
want to tell you, my brother in sorrow
of these thoughts, because perhaps |
can come little nearer to your grief
with words of this sort than by the
formal words of the sermons we minis
tiers sometimes preach.
As the cars hurried on, my thought
took shape like this: "Can | ever see
her again If | can, waiting will not
be hard can work and laugh and
sing through no matter how many
years" This mood soon yielded to
another. "Why does not God give me
complete assurance that this shall he
so? My Father has promised to sus-
tain, He must do it. He must take
the sorely stricken mother, crushing
=
in His arms of love. He must hold
the heroic sister, waiting at the home
from which she had hidden us go lay
the ruin under the mountain shadows,
where the rising sun earlier kisses the
rounded sod He must do it." 1t
was IA demand more than prayer.
There was no alternative, so it seemed.
Now, the sun of another year is
shining, and ii rests so sweetly on her
grave in the old churchyard, and re-
view the shrouded way. But can |
see much better now? Do | know
much more Will it ever be plain
and clear?
Perhaps the questions which rise
will never all be answered. suspect
even heaven will have its mysteries.
But slowly, swectly divine voice will
be heard 10y the believing child, and
though the explanation is delayed and
the mystery presses closer rs the
months 90 on, yet into all our fears
aud strong desires comes the faithful
word, LODI am with YOU Away" |
wanted strength aud in my blindness
did not know that He was giving il.
Has that been your trouble, my broth
err? Have You failed to see that it
was Gods hand under and around you
that enabled you to do and bear with
such composure what now You feel
He was at onr side when we were cry
ing for His presence, but our eyes were
holden and we did not see. What
bright, clear light shines through our
heavy sorrow upon some divine word
that once seemed dim. Cast thy bur-
den on the Lord and He shall sustain
thee We used to think that meant
that He would remove the burden.
Now We see that it means simply that
He will sustain. And did He not Sus-
tain that night when you looked down
into a dead face and said, sit. is all
over now: no more speech from these
lips; no more light from these eyes,
Could you have endured it if He had
not sustained
Here is another word which we used
to read. The prayer of faith shall
save the sick" SaveF We thought
that meant new healtl, for disensetl
body, new light in dull eyes, new
strength in wasted hands. Now we
know that meaning is poor and mean
and small. Saving is more than health
OF. nerve and nnscl. and hrain- SaN-