Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-02-12
The Burdens We Bear.

Inc DufUeuS VIC DcdI.
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden.-Matthew XII, 20.
The prevalence of sorrow in this
lower world is somewhat appalling to
q sympathetic nature. 1t is to be
found in thousand shapes and IN
every nook and corner. The clouds
have hardly held more rain drops than
the tears which have fallen from
human eyes. Hearts are heavy every
where, and if we ask why this should
be, the answer must be sought with
patience and perseverance,.
There are other experiences besides
those connected with the vacant chair
which are very hard to bear. LIZ is
even safe to say that death has rivals
in the production Of suffering, and
that the loss of loved ones does not
rank first among the incidents that
have broken our hearts. When one
has passed beyond the mysterious
limit of life and disappeared from our
sight, though not from our memory
and affection, it may be that his for
tune is better than ours. He has taken
the path which leads to the land where
sorrowe are unknown, while we remain
to bear alone the burdens which he
aforet;me shared with us. 1t is pos
sible to be glad-with a painful kind
of gladness-that for him has come the
end of physical agony and the sleep
which follows life's fitful fever.
There are other sorrows which make
us old before our time-the endless
trials and disappointments which fill
US with anxiety and are SO discourag
ing that we often wonder what there
is in life that we should cling to 1T SO
tenaciously. We feel like men in a
boat rowing against the current, who
make no Roadway, however eagerly
they may bend to the oars
1t is concerning this class OF sorrows
that we need counsel and an encourag-
ing word if one can be found. For ex-
ample, this man began life with high
hopes, and as the years went by these
hopes withered and fell one by one
until nothing is left except the dull
monotony Of drudgery. The bells
which merrily chimed in other days
have been tolling for many year now.
Another man dreamed of compe.
tency for himself and his dear ones,
but the profits of business failed him.
He would give his family everything,
but what he calls fate is against him,
and he can give them nothing. In
still another home some large hearted
boy has gone wrong, and, like an
ocean steamer under full Roadway in a
fog, may reach the wrecking rocks at
any moment. In still another home
the daughter with misplaced affection
is about to take the risks of an unfOr-
tunate marriage, the results of which
she cannot be made to see, though
others see them only too plainly.
These are among the most serious
events of life, and they are happening
somewhere every day. There are few
homes in which some shadow OF this
kind has not fallen, and they show us
that death is not the only thing, nor
yet the chief thing, to be dreaded.
Why we must suffer in this way L
cannot tell. simply repeat the lines,
"God moves in mysterious way His
wonders to perform" But it is certain
that He never sent a cloud that had
not silver lining, and in His all in
Guiding providence no event can occur
which has not attached to it some
measure of hope and cheer.
If this life were all. then, it must be
confessed, our lot would be hard one.
A sadder or more desperate plight than
man would find himself in were anoth
er life denied cannot well be conceived.
1t may seem to be a grim sort of argu-
ment, but it is nevertheless fair to say
that our sufferings In this world make
the necessity of another world abso
lutely imperative. Looked at from
the lowest standpoint, this life, with
it's inexorablesgriefs. its bent shoulders,
It's bleeding hearts and eyes bedimmed,
demands future in the name OF or
\ af hn
highest standpoint, this life is a period
of discipline to prepare us for ncbler
state of existence; but what should be
said-excapt that the whole universe
is delusion and sham-if, having
toilfully prepared ourselves, we be told
that there is nothing to be prepared
for? That argument for Immortality
is like the cry of innocence condemned
to death by capricious tyrant and
demanding that the sentence shall be
set aside. 1t is irrefutable and can no,
more be broken than piece of chilled
steel.
The woes, the groans, the seJrowing
homes of this old carthage, the lives
that have been wrecked bX overcom
ing temptation, and the. very crimes
that have been committed cry out for
immortality in which wrongs may be
righted and peace and rest will follow
hardship and, struggle.
You may find good cheer in this ad-
vice-to do the. best your circumstan-
ces allow, to, bear what comes as
bravely as you can, to keep your hesrt
pure and your hands clean, no matter
what betides, and to do all this, in the
strength of that wonderful Raaag who
said, "Come unto Me, all we that labor
and are heavy laden, and. . will give
you rest" Your relations, to God are
not to be shaken by the.fact that you
do not understand His providence.
On the contrary. when the path is
rugged and thA> night is Oakland
very dark, Indeed, it lie sometimes
cling all the. closer to your faith, for it
is the only thing under the stars thu t
can give you help. There are brie hit
days ahead-if not here, then the re-
and once on the other side we sh9 III see
Aplainly what is now hidden.
i GEORGE Ii. HBPw,oRTH.