The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-11-25
FOR WHAT SHALL WE BE THANKFUL?
Some Old, Oft Repeated Questions, and
Their Questionable Answers.

Some Old, Oft Repeated Questions, and
Their Questionable Answers.
"For what shall we be thankful" say the
sorrowing. "Grief abideth with lis. and in
our hearts is the bitterness of continued
trouble"
"For what shall we bo thankful" say the
moor. "Thc earth overflows with plenty, but
we Gre destitute. Cold and hunger is our
portion, and want is our companion all tho
days OF the year"
"FcA. what shall we be than!:full" say the
hopeless. "Thc days go on, but they lri'9; US
no ioy. The sun and the moon traverse the
heavens without warming our chilled hearts
or lighting our dark pathway"
"For what shall we be thanliful:' say the
disappointed "Wherevcr we turn, there,
waiting to disLcarten us, turks disappoint-
ment. Whom we rise he it is that causes us
again to fall
"For what shall we he thankful:' say the
tempted, the mistaken. the fallen Our
temptations have overcome lis: our mistakes
have destroyed us; our sins have crushed us.
For us there is nothing left but wrctrh"dness. "
"For what shall wc be thankful" say the
baffled. When we strive we fail; when we
rray no answer comes: when we hope our
hopes arc never realized; when WE love our
loves are lost to u.s.
"For what shall we he thankful!" say the
bcrcavcd. "Dcath has robbed lis and left us
moaning. On: sore hearts cannot take up
! the cry Of rejoicing, for wc weep uncom-
fortcd."
"For what shall we he thankful" say the
sick. "Wc suffer and know no ease. We are
full of anguish night and day"
"For what shall we thankfully say the per-
secuted. Our enemies outnunbcr us; our
burdens arc greater than We can hear"
"For what shall we thankful" say the
weary, the wounded, the forsakcn. the heavy
of heart. "For us there is no rest, 10 happi-
ness. no help. Wcarincss is o,lr portion and
burdens our inheritance. We have 10 cause
for rejoicing from the beginning "f the year
/ to the end"
For these, for all these, it is written: "Rcst
in the Lord. Oh, rest in the Lord Wait pa
ticntly for Him and He shall give thee thy
hearts desire"
To these, to all these, the promise has been
given. To these, the words from plain old
sermon come with power to heal: There is
still heaven to he thankful for. Whatever
sorrows hcrcavc us here, whatever fatal mis-
takes darkcn our lives, whatever irrr'l"cnlahle
losses bcfall us, we may vet rest III the Lord,
and wait patiently for him in III" little life
that remains: for beyond this worlds gain or
loss, high in the serene air of heaven, when cX
istencc ceases to he lesson and becomes vivid
life, there and only there shall He give us our
hearts desire in its immortal fullness. Here
knowledge is deflcd, love is imperfect, purity
the result OF fiery trial, wealth rusted into
covctouSness; but in heaven is tie very native
country of pure knowledge, perfect love, ut
ter silllcsSncSs, and riches that neither moth
nor rust corrupt, that bless and curse not"
Ii is only the men of small holdings, who
do most If their worl; with their own hands,
that are Standing up under the Stringrncy
Of the tines. They have small farms, hut
they improve what they do have, and the
acreage Yield is often twG or three times
that IF larger estates. This makes all the
difference in the world, and makes the
small farms really worth more than the
i large one From the kerShaw Gazette.