Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-08
LESSONS OF THE STORM.
Men Would Forget IF They We're Not
Made to Remember.

| When Gods hand lies heavily upon
His children there are few Of us who
do not grow restless under His touch.
So long as our lives progress smoothly
and those blessings come to us for
which we long the most we are inclin-
ed to give but little heed to His care
| and protection. We may not realize
that we are unappreciative Of His
goodness to us, but when the skies are
blue and life brims over with happi-
| ness we forget sometimes to place our
blessings to His account, and 1t Is only
when the clouds lower and danger
comes that we awaken to a realization
of His power. The storm which came
| from out of the east so Unexpectedly
last Sunday night and broke in all its
| fury over our city, brought home to
| everyone a deep appreciation Of our
helplessness in the face of such terri
flying manifestations. Because the
| world has advanced amazingly, be-
cause civilization has made such Won
derful progress, because our achieve
| ments have more than warranted our
| efforts we have come to believe our
selves possessed almost of limitless
powers. We try to wrest the secrets
| of the ages from the starry vastnesses
above us and from the depths Of the
| earth beneath us, and when success
| attends our efforts to marked degree,
as sometimes 1t does, we believe that
we have solved the problem of the un-
counted years and dare to pose as mas
ters of Gods secrets. We even try TO
measure our feeble efforts with His in
| finite knowledge, and there are some
Of US who profess to believe that 1t Is
not necessary to have His cooperation
to obtain the best results. We grow
forgetful Of the supremacy of One who
| works In mysterious ways, and believe
ourselves capable Of striving alone and
unaided. We become complacent over
our powers of accomplishment and for
| get that we are but tools in the hands
Of the great Architect Of our fortunes.
Then the blow falls; and in a short
space Of time we are made to see
clearly how vain has been our pride.
how foolish our boastings and how
uncertain our accomplishments.
To those of US who passed through
| those long hours Of anxiety week ago
there was no truth so manifest as our
entire helplessness. AS the wind moan
ed and shrieked and roared throughout
the terrible night, and the waters rose.
and the falling trees cracked like pistol
shots, anxious and terrified as we were
there was. scarcely being who did not
think first of all Of his impotency and
inability to meet the conditions. With
sinking hearts and assumed courage we
did what we could in the uneven bat
tie, struggling against the fear Of what
might come and waiting, waiting
through the long night for we knew not
what. We felt the power Of God
while the storm ragged as We never
could feel it under smiling skies.
1t is hard to understand the reason
for such manifestations of Gods will
as that which appeared to us so recent
ly. In the twinkling of an eye, as it
were, the work Of years has been un-
done, and apparently many Of our ef-
forts have come to naught. The spirit
of encouragement, however, which is
only natural after such a time will
| soon pass away, partly because Of the
| natural buoyancy of our hearts and
partly because of the return Of that
confidence which alone can surmount
our difficulties. Fortunes have been
wrecked, 1t is true, and many per-
sons are compelled to begin again the
struggle Of the last decade or two.
There is little complaint, however, to
be heard, even among those who have
suffered the most. Everybody seems
to have gone to work with a determi-
nation to cover up the old scars so
that the wounds will be forgotten, and
| it is in this spirit of optimism that we
draw a splendid lesson from the storm.
There are many persons who are salts
| fed only to accept the happy condi-
| tions Of life and who resent the trials
and tribulations which are our common
share The visitations which God in
ficts upon his children are often for
their own good, although 1t Is hardly
to be expected that such theory is
ever accepted at the time. We cannot
| expect the Almighty to provide for us
smiles and happiness and prosperity
and all those beautiful things for which
we hunger. We must have our share
of the tears, and grief and adversely
with which life abounds, and the secret
of contentment lies in our willingness
to accept the sorrows along with the
joys, the shadows with the sunshine.
The storm will not be without its
good effects morally as well as physi-
cally if we can only bring ourselves to
accept it as coming from the hands OF
God, not as punishment, but as re-
minder that we can do nothing without
His help, and that it Is a part of His
Wisdom to test the strength of our
souls in such ways as He deems best.
Sunday" News.