Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1908-01-11

dollar OF expenditure" the result
was. though you had three or four
children to support. you were able to
accumulate isttle capital. aud grad
ually and yet Surely you pressed ahead
uutll now you own your home, and
you have been able to put aside some
money for rainy day. What hus-
band today Is not willing to thank God
for the financial reinforcement his
wife has been 10 him by her domestic
economies?
The Wife's Faith.
And, then, has she not been moral
and spiritual reinforcement as well
ns n financial helper? When you left
home In the morning you felt that. like
Daniel of old, you were entering the
lions den. Everywhere around you
were lions of temptation. ready to eat
-ou up. There were the lion of false
hood. the lion OF theft. the lion OF
drink, the lions of innumerabe dishon-
estes. oh" you said. what is the
good of my trying 10 live right when
so many Of my business associates are
dishonest and trying TO 0terreach me?"
When you came home at night and she
came 10 greet you at the door. as you
looked into her honest blue eyes you
knew that no impure or dishonest
thought had passed through her mind.
When you saw her gather the children
about her for prayers and then kneel
TO commend her own soul and the souls
OF her husband and dear ones 10 the
Heavenly Father somehow all your
evil thoughts disappeared. Through
the touch OF her hand you went back
n true man TO your work. Tell me
honestly, would you be the Christian
mnn you are today II your wife's faith
had not been ms n sheet anchor holding
you to the cross? Am wrong when
say that God giveth the word. but the
Christian wives who surround us and
publish the tidings are great host?
But the second proper name of this
old New England epitaph Is even more
suggestive than the first: "A Sarah to
her husband. Eunice to her chill
dren' Who was Eunice? She was
the mother of young Timothy. the IA
vorlte co-worker and protege of the
Apostle Paul. The greatest of all the
apostles loved him not only for his
own sake. but for the sake OF his
mother and his grandmother He be.
gins his second epistle TO Timothy
with this salutation: when | call to
remembrance the unfeigned faith that
is In thee. which first dwelt in thy
| |, a hnr ntc fhxt har
Eunice." All. yes. II was not difficult
for Paul TO trust and 10 love Timothy
when he knew in what kind OF a
Christian cradle Timothy had been
rocked. Neither Is II n very difficult
matter for some OF us TO he good when
we look back upon the influence which
our Christian mothers had over us dur
ing our infancy and childhood.
A Euniee to Her Children.
Would you like to picture this wom-
an, who was Sarah 10 her husband
and a Eunice to her children? Why.
she was just the same kind of a
Eunice as your mother was 10 you.
Once, like Sarah of old your mother
was fair to look upon. After your ia
Their died you found among his treas
ures an old daguerreotype which,
though faded, still showed what a
pretty and fun loving girl your mother
must have been. But one day the an
gel of the Nativity whispered in her
ear solemn secret Then n serious
look came to her eye. Then, when she
was tempted To any inconsistency. the
first question that always sprang TO
her lips was: Should do that? What
will be the example for my children"
| All, yes, l can understand why In the
last chapter OF Proverbs Lemuers
mother describes the good wife in the
words. MANY daughters have done
virtuously, but thou excellest them
ALL" The purity and nobility OF a
w0man's life are never so gloriously
developed as when she. a mother,
walks daily as spiritual example
before her children. God bless the
Eunices! God bless them for the
prayers they are lifting for their chill
dren and for the constant sacrifices
they are making for their homes.
But n child cannot always remain Il
child. Neither can young mother al
ways remain young. Time is no re.
specter OF persons. First comes the
blossom, then the fruit. Then the
green leaves OF the trees take upon
themselves the variegated hues OF au-
tumn. Then comes the Indian summer
Of life. The smooth cheeks of young
womanhood change into the wrlnkled
skin OF old age. The black hair OF
Eunice changes into the whitened
locks OF Lois. the children grow up,
and the grandchildren come. The
mother. who once sat at the head OF
the table, now sits at the side. The
easiest chair In the sitting room Is
grandmother's. And yet a Lois exer
cises her influence upon young limo
thy, and It is very good. Paul even
mentions III, grandmother's influence
before he mentions the influence OF
Eunice. Why Is that? ! think | can
tell you why. II is on account OF the