Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-06-29
Lost Opportunity.


There comes a dark Sabbath morn
ing. The pastor looks out Of the win
dow and sees the clouds gather and
then discharge their burdens of rain.
Instead of O full church it will be n
handful Of people with wet feet and
the dripping umbrella at the doorway
or In the end Of the pew. The pastor
has prepared one Of his best sermons.
1t has cost him great research. and he
has been much In prayer while prepar-
ing II. He puts the sermon aside for
q clear day and talks platitudes and
goes home quite depressed, but at the
same time feeling that he has done his
duty. He did not realize that In that
small audience there were at least two
persons who ought to have had better
treatment One of those hearers was
q man in crisis of struggle with evil
appetite. a carefully prepared dis
course under the divine blessing would
have been to him complete Victory.
The fires of sin would have been extin.
guished. and his keen and brilliant
mind would have been consecrated TO
the gospel ministry, and he would have
been a mighty evangel, and tens OK
thousands of souls would have under
the spell of his Christian eloquence
given up sin and started a new life,
and throughout all the heavens there
would have been congratulation ami
hosanna, and after many ages or eter-
nifty had passed there would be celeDra-
ton among the ransomed of what was
accomplished one stormy Sunday in a
church on earth under a mighty gospel
sermon delivered to 10 or 20 people
But the crisis speak of was not prop
erly met. The man In struggle with
evil habit heard that stormy day no
word that moved him. He went out
In the rain uninvited and unhelped
back to bis evil way and down to his
overthrow. Had it been a sunshiny
Sabbath he would have heard some
thing worth hearing. But the wind
blew from a stormy direction that Sab
bath day. That gospel husbandman
noticed 1t and acted upon Its sugges'
ton and may discover some day bis
great mistake. He had q sackful or
the finest Of the wheat, but he with
held It, and some day he will fnd'
when the whole story is told. that be
was q vivid Illustration Of the truth OF
my text, "He that observeth the wind
shall not SOW"
Not Worth Sowing.
There was another person In that
stormy Sunday audience that deserved
something better from that pastor than
extemporized nothlngness. 1t was q
mother who was half awakened to
sense Of responsibility In regard to her
household. She had begun to question
herself as to whether II would not be
better to introduce into her home q re-
Iigion that would decide Alright the des'
tiny of her sons and daughters. Her
home had so far been controlled only
by worldly principles. She had dared
the riot of the elements that morning
and had found her way to church. hop
ing to hear something that would help
her TO decide the domestic question
which was to her a solicitude. a good.
strong sermon under the divine bless
ing would have led her into the king
dom Of God and afterward her whole
family The children, whether they be-
came farmers or mechanics or mer-
chants or artists or men Of learned pro-
fesslon or women at the head of house
holds, would have done thPir work in a