Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-09-09

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stroke, annoyance after annoyance, IT.
ritation after irritation, and after awhile
he will be done and glad spectacle for
angels and men.
THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS
Not by one great stroke, but by ten
thousand little strokes Of misfortune are
men fitted for heaven. You know that
large fortunes can soon be scattered by
being paid out in small sums of money,
and the largest estate of Christian char
acter is sometimes entirely lost by these
small depletions.
We must bring the religion of Jesus
Christ to help US in these little annoy
ances. Do not say that anything is too
insignificant to affect your character.
Rats may sink q ship. One lucifer
match may destroy temple. A queen
got her death by smelling of poisoned
rose. The scratch of sixpenny nail
may give you the lockjaw. Columbus,
by asking for piece Of bread and a
drink Of water at franciscan convent,
came to the discovery of new world.
And there is great connection between
trifes and Universities. between moth
ings and everythings.
Do you not suppose that God cares for
your insignificant SORROWS? Why, MY
friends, there is nothing Insignificant in
your life. How dare you take the re-
sponsibility Of saying that there is? Do
you noeknow that the whole universe is
not ashamed to take care of oneviolet? l
say: "What are you doing down there
in the grass, poor little violet? Nobody
knows you are here. Are you not afraid
nights? You will die with thirst. No
body cares for you. You will suffer; you
will perish" no" says O star, "I'll
watch over 1t tonight" NO." says tho
cloud, "I'll give it drink" "No," says
the sun, "I'll warm it in my bosom. n
And then the wind rises and comes
bending down the grain and sounding
its psalm through the forest, and l say,
"Whither away, o wind, on such swift
wing?" and it answers. II am going to
cool the cheek of that violet" And then
1 see pulleys at work in the sky, and the
clouds are drawing water, and say,
"What arc you doing there; O cloudsT
They say.."We are drawing water for
that violet" And then look down into
the grass, and I say, "Can it be that God
takes care of a poor thing like your" and
the answer comes up, Eyes, yes; God
clothes the grass Of the field, and he has
never forgotten me, poor violet" Oh,
my friends, if the heavens bend down. to
such insignificant ministry as that. I tell
you God is willing to bend down to your
case, since he is just as careful about
the construction of spiders eye as he
is in. the conformation of flaming gal
axies.
Plato had fable which have now
nearly forgotten, but it ran something
like this: He said spirits of the other
world came back to this world to find g
body and find a sphere of work. One
spirit came and took the body of o king
and did his work. Another spirit came
and took the body. of q poet and did his
work. After awhile Ulysses came, and
he said: "W Thy, all the fire bodies. ara
taken, and all the grand work is taken.
There is nothing left for me" And some
one replied, "Ah, the best one has been
left for you" Ulysses said, What's
that?" And the reply was, 1.-THE body
of common man, doing a common
work and for q common reward" A
good fable for the world and just as
good fable for the church.
But, remark again, we ought to
bring the religion of Jesus Christ into
our ordinary blessings. Every autumn
the presidentof the United States and
the governors make proclamation, and
we are called together in our churches
to give thanks to God for his goodness.
But every day ought to be thanksgiv-:
ing day. We take most of the blessings
of life as matter of course. We have
had ten thousand blessings this morning
for which we have not thanked God.
Before the night comes we will have
thousand more blessings you will never
think of mentioning before God.
HOW TO APPRECIATE OUR BLESSINGS.
We must see blind man led along by
his dog before we learn what grand
thing it is to have ones eyesight We
must see a man with st. Vitus' dance be-
fore we learn what a grand thing it is
to have the use of our physical energies.
We must see some soldier crippled, limp
ing along on his crutch or his empty
coatsleeve pinned up, before we learn
what grand thing'it is to have the use
of all our physical faculties. In other
words, we are so stupid that nothing but
the misfortunes of others can wake us
up to an appreciation of our common
blessings.
We get on board a train and start for
Boston and come to Norwalk bridge,
and the draw" is off and crash! goes the
train. Fifty lives dashed out. We es-
cape. We come home in great excite
ment and call our friends around us. and
they congratulate us. and we all kneel
down and thank God for our escape
while SO many persisted Buttomorrow
morning you get on train of cars for.
Boston. You cross that bridge at Nor
walk; you cross all the other bridges;
you get to Boston in safety. lnen you
return home. Not an accident, not an
alarm. No thanks.
In other words, you seem to be more
grateful when so people lose their lives
and you get off than you are grateful to
God when you all get off and you have
no alarm ct all. Now, you ought to he
thankful when you escape from accident,
but more thankful when they all escape.
In the one case your gratitude is some
what selfish; in the other it is more like
what it ought to be.
Oh, these common merciee, thes.
common blessings, how little we appre-
ciate them and how soon we forget
them! Like the OK grazing, with the
clover up to its eyes, like the bird pick
ing the worm out of the furrow-never
thinking to thank God, who makes the
grass grow and who gives life TO every