The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-05-27


cant to offer. There are those who
have the idea that you must groan over
the distressed and afflicted. There are
times in grief when one cheerful face
dawning upon a mans soul is worth
$1,000 to him. DO not whine over the
afflicted. Take the promises of the
gospel and utter them in manly tone.
Do not be afraid to smile If you feel
like it, Do not drive any more hearses
through that poor soul. Do not tell
him the trouble was foreordained; ii
will not be any comfort to know 1t
was million years coming. II you want
to find splints for a broken bone do
not take cast iron. DO not tell them
it is Gods justice that weighs out grief.
They want to hear of Cod tender
mercy. In other words, do not give
them aqua fortis when they need vale
rian.
Again l remark that those persons
are poor comforters who have never
had any trouble themselves. A lark
spur cannot lecture on the nature of Il
snowhake-it never saw snowflalSe;
and those people who have always
lived in the summer of prosperity can
not talk to those who are frozen In
disaster God keeps aged people in
the world, | think, for this very work
of sympathy. They have been through
ell these trials. They know all that
which irritates and all that which
soothes If there are men and women
here who have old people in the house,
| or near at hand SO that they can easily
reach them, ! congratulate you. Some
of US have had trials in life and al
though we have had many friends
around about Us, we have wished that
father and mother were still alive
that we might go and tell them. Per-
haps they could not say much, but it
would have been such comfort to
have them around. These aged ones.
who have been all through the trials
of life, know how to give coincidence.
Cherish them; let them lean on your
m-these aged people. If. when you
speak to them, they cannot hear just
what you say the first time. when you
say it a second time do not say it
sharply. If you do, you will be sorry
for it on the day when you take the
last look and brush back the silver
locks from the wrinkled brow just be-
fore they screw the lid on. Blessed be
God for the old people! They may not
have much strength to go around, but
they are Gods appointed ministers of
comfort TO broken heart
People who have not had trials them
selves cannot give comfort to others.
They may talk very beautifully, and
they may give you great deal of po-
etic sentiment; but while poetry is
perfume that smells sweet, ii makes a
very poor salve. If you have grave
in a pathway, and somebody comes
and covers it all over with flowers, it
is grave yet Those who have not
had grief themselves know not the
mystery of a broken heart They know
not the meaning of childlessness. and
the having no one to put to bed at
/ night, or the standing in room where
every book and picture. and door. are
/ full of memories-the doormat where
she sat the cup out of which she
( drank, the place where she stood at the
/ door and clapped her hands. the odd
figures that she scrubbed, the blocks
she built into a house. All! no. you
must have trouble yourself before you
Z eau comfort trouble in others. But
come all We who have been bereft, and
We who have been comforted in your
sorrows. and stand around these af-
hicted souls and say to them: Il had
that very sorrow myself. God com
forted me, and he will comfort you;''
and that will go right to the spot. In
other words, to comfort others, we
must have faith in God, practical ex-
perience, and good, sound common
sense.
But there are three or four consider
atoms that will bring to those who
are sorrowful and distressed, and that
we can always bring TO them, know
ing that they will effect cure. And
the first consideration is that God
sends our trouble in love. | often
near people in their trouble say,
why, wonder what God has against
me-" They seem to think God has
some grudge against them because
trouble and misfortune has come Oh,
no. DO you not remember that pas
sage of scriptures: "Whom the LORD
loveth He chasteneth?" A child come,
in with very bad splinter in his
hand and you try TO extract it. 1t is g
very painful operation. The child
draws back from you. but you persist
You are going to take that splinter
out, SO you take the child with a gen
tie but firm grasp. for although there
may be pain in it, the splinter mus
come out. And it is love that dictates
it and makes you persist, My friends
| think that nearly all our sorrows il
this world are only the hand OF oui
Father extracting some thorn. If al
these sorrows were sent by enemies.
would say, arm yourselves agains
them, and as in tropical Chimes wher
tiger comes down from the noun
tains and carries off a child from tn,
village, the neigh bors band together
and go into the forest and hunt tn,
monster, so [ would have you, IL
. thought these misfortunes were sen
, by an enemy, go out aud battl,
against them But no, they come from