The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1907-01-04
Caln1aQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, D. D.


sermon on the wisdom of letting go,
whether the thing be bad business, q
wildcat speculation, a foolish invest
ment a dangerous friendship or a sin
full habit. The text is Matthew vii, 16
"Do men gather grapes of thorns or
figs of thistles?"
An absurd question OF course a
man cannot gather grapes of thorns or
figs from thistles any more than a sit
ting hen can hatch out a brood of
twenty chickens when she has only a
half dozen eggs in her nest We, have
learned that nature has it's laws and
that they are invariable. Walnuts will
not produce peach trees. Apple seeds
planted in garden will not change
themselves into rosebushes and gera-
NUNS and begonias. Even thilfSs that
look alike or similar to the eye differ
entiate themselves in operation. The
marigold and the California peoples
and the blossoms of the ordinary
squash have their garments dyed with
the same shade of yellow, but a squash
seed will not produce California pop
py any more than a morning glory
seed can be changed into one of those
beautiful ice plants you see growing
along the Pacific coast. In other words,
God has decreed there are certain
things which it is impossible for man
to do. And yet we find men every
where attempting such things. They
try to achieve the impossible. / think
that a man can have no more valuable
capacity than that of knowing what is
mpossible-impossible in itself or i'm
possible for him. l would not discour-
age any one who is striving to accom-
plish great things, but when once you
see that an achievement cannot be
won l urge you to abandon the effort
without delay. There comes a time in
life when we should "let go" as well as
there come other times in life when
we should "hang on" and never loosen
our grip until success is ours.
Some months ago the time for my
summer vacation drew near. Then my
old longing to get away from the city
and back, way back, into the country
took possession of me. Hardly had we
arrived at my summer cottage than a
party of three of us started out on a
hunting trip. The wagon was packed
with food. The guns and ammunition
were put in, and away we went.
"Where are you going to take us?" l
asked the driver "To my old ranch"
was the reply After the first days
hunt was over and we were gathered
about the blazing fire the driver told
me a story. First he pointed out
some tall eucalyptus trees. Look at
those clumps of trees dotting the mesa
here and there and everywhere" said
he. "a few years ago each one of
those groves represented a prosperous
farm. We had our church, our school
and as fine harvest fields and lemon or
chards as any one might wish to see. |
We expected the Southern Pacific rail
road to run through this valley. We |
expected water to be brought from |
the POma reservoirs, twenty-siX miles |
away. to irrigate this land. l refused !
$4,000 for these bare fields upon which /
we are camping tonight, now unin- /
habited save by the rattlesnakes which |
we heard today and the deadly tarantu- |
las But l did not know when to stop. |
The Southern Pacific did not come |
through. as we expected. The water
was not brought down from PomA res
ervoirs Then came the four or five
years of drought. We farmers were
literally burned and starved out. Fam
ily after family left this region. l was
the last to go. Today there is not liv-
ing a family for miles around. Here
are only the broken fences, the tumble
down houses. the snakes, the poisonous
spiders. the rabbits, the birds and the
coyotes But | still hoped. / struggled
on for twelve long years. Then, like
the rest l had to leave and go else
where. Twelve long years of work
went for naught."
All For Naught.
Did you ever hear a story more pa
thetic? For twelve long years that
man had worked among those hills.
The campfire that cooked the game we
killed that afternoon, the campfire
about which we were chatting that
night, was fed by the shingles, the
beams and the boards of his old home.
The water holes near which we hunted
had been dug as reservoirs by his
hands. We were camping that night
upon the ruins of a dozen long years
of labor. Yet as | lay upon the ground
a short time after this story was told,
irving to 20 20 sleep, | could not get
this thought out of my mind: How
many men there are hanging on to
certain line Of work which is unproht-
able and doomed to certain failure
Then as | rolled over l said to my
friend under the blankets by my side:
"Mr. Brown, there is a weiShty lesson
here. There is time to let go just as
there is a time to hang on" Early
next morning, when, with gun over my
shoulder. | went off alone to hunt, ev-
cry bare bush, every deserted farm.
every crumbling fence, kept calling:
"Iet go Let 90! When you are at
tempting the impossible, have courage
enough and manhood enough and faith
in God enough TO let CO. This is the
reason ] have selected the theme for
this mornings discourse.
The lesson of those deserted farm
lands bids you to let go that foolish
real estate or mining or stock invest
ment you made many years ago and
into which you are gradually sinking
the savings of a lifetime of work. 1t
saws to YOU, "NIan, let go that foolish
financial enterprise, even though you
have spe,t $500 or $1,000 or $4,000 in
it." 1t says. Let 90, even though to