Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-07-23

year.
IIn'S n.t .' ,.I,r VI its voyag,
Tho harbor of peace will he entered
gladly as soon as the earthly journey
Is ended. Have you ever taken long
trip away from home? Have you been
gone three five. ten months or year?
Have you ever been so far away that
II a cablegram was sent you that one
Of your loved ones was dying you knew
that you could not reach the bedside
of the sufferer, or even see her face
again after she was dead? Well,
have. pray God you may never know
what such separation means.
End of the Voyage.
Then, after n long journey of many
months, have you ever felt In head
and heart, In all parts Of your being,
mental, physical and spiritual. the ex-
uitant joy Of heading toward home
Oh, then the bliss and yet the long
drawn out impotence as the Journey
comes nearer to its close, The old
ships propeller will not revolve fast
enough You hang around the chart
which is daily posted in the ship s
cabin to tell you how many miles the
tain every time you meet him, saying,
Captain, will we be able TO get in by
Friday nightT" Then II the ship is de.
tanned, as ours was all night long in
a fog just outside Of New York harbor,
oh, how the time does drag, never
slept n wink that last night on my
Journey around the world. l walked
up and down the deck. up and down.
l wondered II the telegram had been
flashed to my folks from Barnegat
lighthouse that tho Etruria had been
sighted. l wondered IL they would be
down at the docks to greet me. And,
though 1t was stormy day when we
went up the Narrows. | stood out near
the how. | was alone. entirely alone,
without kith or kin for n travelling
companlon yet, when I saw my dear
ones upon the dock. I nudged the man
nearest to me and cried out: There
they are. There are my folks. There
di' iuiIicI anu MY SiSttIS. les, tIltIt
they all are" And the tears Of Joy
rolled down my cheeks. That is the
way the Christian voyager shall enter
the harbOr of peace. The physical
ship in which he sails may he bruised
and battered by many n storm. but
that will amount to nothing Then all
our loved ones will come down to meet
us. Oh, how many. many. many dear
ones are there They shall all come
down to the banks. wonder if we
will know them Mt once. wonder II
they will cry when we wave back.
The Rible says there are no tears In
heaven, but | do not think that state.
ment Is literally true do not believe
we can see our own dear ones for the
first time without crying Just n little
But, mark YOU. in that great welcome
they will only be tears of joy and not
tears of sorrow.
Thus. my dear friends, as voyagers
upon the great sea of life. today greet
you. | signal you with the warmest
feelings Of Christian JOY stirring my
heart. feel that il Is due to the provi
dence of God that we have been
brought together. and therefore we
have been brought together for n Chris
tian purpose. The sea of life Is so wide
that many of us only meet each other
this once before we sail into the harbor
Of peace. Wien aYossel becomes n wreck
and floats about upon the seas as n
dercliCt it sometimes takes months and
even years for II to he found and de-
stroyed. II may take all that time, no
matter how many ships may be hunt
Ing for II. Therefore. what | am to
say To You must say quickly. Human
never allow any sinful current TO turn
your prov from your Christly dcstna-
ton. Never allow your sails to be
stretched for n popular wind. Never
allow your reckoning to be made from
any star but that which once CLEANED
over the Bethlehem manger. And
never feel. Christian voyngcr, that the
storm of persecution will founder you
II you have Christ in the hinder part
Of the ship, Christian voynger, If we
should never meet again this side OF
the harbor Of peace, send YOU my
Christian salutA.ion and love - Hail
and farewell"
copyright. 1908. by Louis Klopsch.l
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