The Donaldsonville chief., 1905-01-14

| Ihf4IM N SEM II and nave GlLS16d
ts.hss55Ha 8 into the heritage
&ss.sszz.-ssss &zas.@szss of that greater era
| ssazsS=-. which knows the
| Leader of leaders,
Of which Moses both wrote and spoke.
There is nothing in this world which
God has given into the hands OF man
| SO valuable as time, and there is
| nothing of which he Is SO prof1igate.
Time! What is it? stroughton puts
il pungently and forcsbly thus. Time
is iife's freightage, WhereWith some
men trade, and make a fortune; and
| others suffer it to molder all away, or
| waste in extravaganza. Time is
life.s book, out of which some eS-
tract wondrous wisdom; while Others
let 1t lie uncovered, and then die fools,
Tire is 1ife's tree, from which some
gather precious fruit. while others lie
down under its shadow, and perish
with hunger. Time is life's ladder,
whereby some raise themselves up TO
honor and renoHn and glory, and some
let themselves down into the deeps Of
shame, degradation and lgnomlny
tTlnse will be to us what, by our use OF
the treasure, we make it-a good or an
evil a blessing or curse" With time
Sc laden with possibilities for good and
evil. for this life and the life to come,
NeE may we pause at this season of
the year, and make Moses prayer our
ITa.er:: so teach us to number our
days that we may apply our hearts unto
vision. : So Impress us with the value
Of fime that wisdom shall become our
teacher. and we shall no longer waste
or misuse that which is SO precious.
TIE use of time. It is a theme
/ which touches every life, for it is
one of the commodities of life which
eTesy man, woman and child handles.
It IS the terms in which the life is
written, for the journey from the cradle
to me grave is marked by the min
Itos that have tieked themselves away,
and the record which is left is that
which has been written in as the mo-
ments passed. With few exceptions,
We sigh and wish that the day was
longer or shorter, that the sun would
stalad still in its course, or that it
would speed on its way with quickened
pace, We want 10 crowd into the
24 hours more than it can hold
Of human endeayor, or else We fret
under the tagging hours and long
ior the experiences and gifts which
the morrow may bring to US. Queen
Charlotte once said: Il am always
quarreling with time: it is so short
to do something, and SO long to do
nothing. And the spirit which
moved the queen to either long for
heightened day, OF wish the hours
away in thoughtless impatience, per-
yades human life everywhere Just
stop and consider how often you quar-
rel with time, and find the day too
short or too long. according as the ex-
Terience and desire dictate.
II low often one hears the words
4 4 spoken with regretful sigh: Il
had more time. / would do SO and
so, referring to some neglected duty,
some unimproyed opportunity, some
kindly word or service left undone.
And the soul would unconsciously seek
refuge in the thought that the fault
lay not within the individual. but was
ehargeable to time itself. But we
have all the time there is. We have
all the time which God intended we
should have. It is not a case of the
changing Of time. retarding or a has
tening OF its passage. It is a matter
ef the use to which time is put. God
does not come to you and to me and
ask us how many hours we had in |
the day, but how did we use those
hours And He from Whose hands |
the hours have come with such faith /
ful regularity is the One to Whom I
we must render our accounting. I /
90 not think it is possible for man
III and OF himself to decide how best
he can use the time which is given |
him. He needs Divine guidance in the
use Of that which God treasures so
highly as to give it with frugal I
Land, moment by moment. Feneion
Las, said that God has done this that
He might impress man with the worth I
OF time. He never gives us two mo-
tnents together, nor grants us a see-
oEd till He has withdrawn the first,
still keeping the third in His own
hands, SO that we are in perfect un-
certainty whether We shall have 1t or
not. . And for the right use of that
moment we nesd TO pray: SO
teach us to number our days that We
E,as apply on hearts unto wisdom
eco TEACH u.s. We need TO enter
~ Gods school and learn of Him
just how TO use time. We need to
know the Divine values and to un-
6erstand the highest uses to which
time may be put. With what un-
worthy aims and motives man fills The
moments as they pass With what
greedy hand he reaches out and gath
ers from the fleeing days the treas
'Ires of this life which perish with the
using. With what thoughtless en-
deavor and aimless purpose he fills
the hours as they pass But man. even
at his best, If left TO his own eounsels
and wisdom, is more than apr TO mis-
use the time. How futile and need-
less are some of mans best efforts as
they stand revealed IN the light of the
experiences of subsequent days. How
often we have to look back on past en-
Il