The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-01
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SPIRIT
AND WHAT IT MEANS
Continued from first page

| htiN 10 u ItdhOu ioT thanksgiving
not found in the multitude of things we
received, but found in ourselves. God
does not need our praise so much as
we need to give praise. We justly pity
the man who knows no gratitude. How
poor is he, indeed We can hardly con
eeive OF a single heavenly treasure stored
in his soul. How small is his vision
of life, a cloud of darkness shuts him
in to himself, No light TO lis path in
life's dark valleys; no power to bear
his burden in JOYS no abiding place
whore sorrow has troubled the waters
of life.
"How true il is that religion is the
measure OF mans life. ] do not mean
the creed or the ceremony, for these
are only the outward expressions of re-
! ligion, at best only aids to religious ex.
ercise. BY religion, | mean the ideals
the vision of the full fruition OF the
| divine purpose mirrored upon the soul;
! mean the motive-that spirit that
sanctiiies or curses the deeds of men;
| | mean the affection-that bond that
unites man to Gods universe and makes
him to know himself a part of the great
| whole. Religion is the measure of men
and of nations. That is why we are
called this day to our festival of thanks
giving. II is the same reason that calls
the mother to teach the little child to
say Thanks not because polite and
| good form, but because gratitude is the
heavenly dew that nourishes the seed of
mans divinity. That is the reason that
the first call to barbarie men given by
messenger of God was, % come, let
us give thanks unto God for His good
ness and His mercy The blessings of
God are opportunities for thanksgiving
Religiously interpreted, they voice the
good pleasure of God that we shall cul
tivate this gratitude
Gratitude for little things, Is II pos.
sible that anyone should ever forget it 4?
IL is easy to do the heroic deed in the
presence Of the multitude, when their
shouts OF approval magnify our courage
to will and TO do. 1t is hard to saeri-
fee self for those things that are shoni
of human glory. IL is easy for nation
to build monuments to its great heroes.
Ii Is hard to even remember the more
heroic sacrifices in the isolated corners
of life-the li.tle deeds falling as con.
stantly as the dripping sands of the
hour glass and wears the life away. IL
is easy to thank God for the providential
happenings that save US from some i'm
pending calamity. II is hard TO remem
Der always that the little things OF our
daily life are no less providential that
make possible a paradise of our little
spot on earth. These blessings of God |
are new every morning. fresh every
evening" The great deeds standing out
in brilliant eolors may be the warp, but
the little deeds and little blessings pass
ing so swiftly to and fro make up the
wool of our daily lives. To guarantee
the enjoyment Of the little things has
called forth the heroic deeds of the ages. |
"If ii be barbarous not 10 be gatful |
for the great blessings, il surely strikes
higher note of character to be ever
grateful for the little things. Can W.
be thankful for the hard thingsl On !
this day i all our thoughts go back
through the years and again we gather
around the old fireplace. The vacant
chairs are occupied once more. We sing
the old songs and play the old games
and bow our heads once more for the |
evening blessing What changes the !
years have brought To-day we have
reaped in part, at least, the fruitage Of |
those years OF toll And in the cata- !
logue OF things for which we now are
grateful, how many things are there
which we at first did not count as
blessings. The tasks, the hardships, the |
rod on the mantle shelf, symbol Of the
discipline wrought unto us in tears. |
How grateful are we for those things! |
Is this not true parable Of Gods ia
therhood and His disciplined Whom the |
Lord loveth, He ehasteneth.' We have |
had fathers of our flesh which coveted |
us shall we not much rather |
be In subsection unto the Father of |
spirits and liver wrote st. Paul. can
not interpret your sorrow.
II am asking you to look with me
toward the world of other men. The
giddy maiden passes down into the dark |
valley and when she comes forth upon
her brow Is the light Of womanhood |
The youth is bowed to the earth by a |
burden too great for his years, but bye |
and bye he stands forth, the strong
character among men. The eternal songs |
can come forth from our souls that have |
been wrung in sorrow. Only those lives
that have been recast in the moulds of /
hardship emit that fragrance that makes
glad the heart of man, If you know
your sorrow. If it's full fruition was to-
day your possession, then would ii be
not sorrow, but perhaps JOY. am
only asking you to tincture your cup
of bitterness with the sweetness of a
faith in the eternal God. You remember |
Longfellow wrote;
Not enjoyment and not sorrow,
Is our destined end and way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Finds us farther than to-day
"The goodness of God is not shown
simply in the showers of heaven, and |
the fruits of the field, the things we
desire and the friends we love, but in
the empty skies, the barren fields, the
things denied and the enemies we make,
for these sound the depths, of the human
soul and reveal its divine possibilities.
Herein we not only receive from God,
but are led to elaborate with Him, look
ing to His divine purpose. Herein the
veil to holy place in the kingdom of
God is rent and we enter in and COM
mune with the Father. Who Of us is
large enough to be thankful in spirit
for the hard thingsf
"fTo be thankful for larger things is