Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-10-08
Rejoice AIyyay.

Rejoice Away.
George II. He7woEth. in New York Herald
And We shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand
unto, We and your Observation-Disclosures XIII
II is just As much our duty TO enjoy life
as ii is to work or sleep. IL is therefore
very important that we should so arrange
our lives that they will furnish the largest
amount of enjoyment.
do not say that anyone can be perfectly
happy all the time. for no part of our dis
cipline is more needed by the soul than
that which comes from the trials and dis
appointments and even the profound sor-
rows through which We are forced to pass
One may even say that he who has never
wept does not know the value of laughter
and that he who has not toiled along the
hot and dusty road does not appreciate the
bliss of sitting under the friendly branches
of tree, with a cool spring bubbling at
his feet, for a short period of rest.
1t is only when We are deprived of a
blessing that we discover its worth and
he alone is grateful in its possession who
knows what it is to get on without it.
l have heard an aged saint say that no
man can rightly define the word heaven
until he stands by new made grave
one may sometimes see more through his
tears than when looking through the larg-
est telescope that was ever made
l do not ignore the serious or solemn
side of life, but l assure you that if YOU
add to the gloom by gloomy thoughts you
not only make 4 mistake so far as your
own comfort is concerned. but You are to
that extent irreligious. On the other hand
when you preserve 4 cheerful attitude
when you brighten your life by dwelling
on tho good things You have. rather than
or those you wish you had. and make
Yourself as hnnp[ Rir
allow. You are in the proper frame of
mind to receive religious truth. you are
in accord with the eternal plan and have
taken the first step in the direction of
true religion.
So long as you regard your environment
as all wrong and untitled to YOU so long
as you find fault because you think YOU
are not where you ought to be- Just so
long do You bar the way to higher level
and chain yourself to a dungeon floor The
angels, with their soothing and encourage
ing influence, can no more reach You than
the sunshine can get through window
which You have deliberately bricked up
/ had almost said that 4 human soul can
SO surround itself with an atmosphere of
discomfort and doubt that the Lord Him
self cannot effect an entrance. while what
is injurious because it is evil is as much
at home as poisonous plant that thrives
on miasm- If You long for the light YOU
will go to the spot where the light can
reach you, but it is foolish to declare that
there is no light when you sit in a dark
corner where only ghostly shadows dwell
There are very few lives in which de-
gree of happiness may not be found If it
is sought for But We must not forget
that we must work to be happy. Just as
We work to be rich. If we want wealth
we fix our minds upon it. We know that
If We can discover its hiding place our
dreams will be realized. We plan to get
1t. and have sufficient confidence in our
selves to keep us on the alert. No oppor-
tunity escapes us. and we make the most
OF every one that presents itself
/ canrot see why this principle should not
be applied to religion. neither can see why
it should not be equally successful We go
to get riches, but we expect happiness and
contentment to come TO us. We work for
fame, for social influence. for all worldly
good things but II seldom occurs to US that
We must also work for that mental and
spiritual condition in which life is expert
enced at its best. And yet Il man-that is
the law as l understand it-should be as
keen in his search for peace of mind. for
resignation. for self-control. as he is for
dollars. and should begin the task in the
lIldi IOu MIN 10 De nappy
rather than miserable. and has so made the
universe and arranged our environment
that We may spend contented years in this
lower sphere and be joyfully raised TO a
higher level after death.
If you look at life from your own stand
point. then you will say that I am a mere
visionary; that l have dreamed dreams
which can never come true. But if you look
at it from Gods standpoint you will admit
that You are in the wrong and that 1 am
stating startling facts.
/ cannot conceive of a religion which does
not tighten human burdens. 1 do not be-
lieve that God ever spoke word in the
way of revelation which was not intended
to make the soul serene and happy. If we
do not interpret the Bible after this fash
ion. then we misInterpret it. 1t is a closed
book to US, and we have not learned to
read it.
Never look on the dark side with dark
feelings in your heart, for you thereby
make the darkness darker still. Look at It
from the conviction that God is overhead.
a conviction which is like the lantern which
the traveller carries in the night time. and
you will find reason to rejoice even when
the clouds are heavy and the path is steep
If Christ could walk with uDfaltering
steps to the place of crucitixion, because
He knew that that was the road-the only
road-to heaven. surely We can lay aside
this unworthy habit of magnifying the pet
~ ills of life, and. by faith in the Providence
which has never yet deserted US and in
the watchful care of the angels who attend
ms can find occasion to rejoice every day
until the setting sun ushers us into 4 world
TO which this is as the porticO OF the
cathedral is to the cathedral itself.
The Absent Hero.