Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-09-12
One Thing at a Time.
Selectel


simple incident wholesome lesson,
and one which has since been of in
calculabe benefit to me.
"When / WAS between twelve and
fourteen years old, my father broke
up a field on his farm, and planted it
with potatoes, and when the plants
were two or three inches high, he sent
me to hoe it. The ground Of that
piece was very hard to till; it was
matted with grass roots and sprinkled
with stones. | hoed the first row, and
stopped to look at the general task
before me. Grass as high as the po-
tatoes was everywhere, and looking
at the whole from any point it seemed
to be solid mass. | had the work
to do all alone. and as | stood staring
at the broad reach of weedy soil, |
felt good mind not to try to do any
thing further then with it,
Just that minute 1 happened to
look down at the hill nearest my feet
The grass dIdn't seem just quite as
thick there, and l said to myself: L
can hoe this one well enough
"When it was done, another thought
came to help me: 4 sha MT have to
hoe but one hill at time, at any
rate
"And 30 I went to the next, and
next. But here stopped again and
looked over tho field. That gave me
another thought too: L could hoe
every hill as came to it; ! it was only
looking away off to all the hills that
made the whole seem impossible.
"I won't look at it. l said; and l
pulled my hat over my eyes SO |
could see nothing but the spot where
my hoe had to dig.
IN course of time, l had gone over
the whole field, looking only at the
hill in hand, and my work was done
Il learned lesson Juggling away
at those grass roots which | never
forgot. 1t WAS to look right down at
the one thing to be done now, and
not hinder and discourage myself by
looking off at the things l haven't
come to, I've been working ever
since that summer at the hill nearest
my feet, and I've always found 1t the
easiest way to get a hard task accom-,
plished, as it is the true way to pre-
pare a field for the harvest"
#*#
WAIT.
Home Circle,
/ saw the proprietor of large gar
den stand at his fence, and call over
to a poor neighbor:
would you like some grapesp
Yes; and very thankful to you,"
was the ready answer.
well, then, bring your basket"
The basket was quickly brought,
and handed over the fence. The
owner took 1t, and disappeared among
the vines; but marked that he was
deposltlDg in it all the while rich and
various clusters from the fruitful
labyrinth in which he had hid HIM
self The woman stood at the fence
the meanwhile, quiet and hopeful,
At length he reappeared with a well
replenished basket, saying: II have
made you wait a good while; but, you
know, the longer You have to wait,
the more grapes"
1t is SO, thought l, with the Proprie-
tor Of all things. He says so to me
and to all: What shall 1 give thee7
What shall 1 do for thee? Ask, and
thou shalt receive" So l bring nv
empty vessel-my needy but capacious
soul. He disappears. 1 am no al
ways SO patient and trustful as the
poor woman. Sometimes l cry out:
How long? how long~ At last he
comes to me, now richly laden, and
kindly chides my impotence, saying:
Have l made thee wait long? See
what l have been treasuring up for
thee all the whilep Then / look,and
behold fruits richer than l had asked
for; and l pour out my hearts thanks
to my generous Benefactor, and grieve
that l distrusted him; and l carry
away my burden with joy.
~
REJOICE ALWAYS.
Good friends, you may be sure of
this, that God never sent trial 80
bitter that genuine, Christ-filled
Christian could not suck some honey