Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1915-10-15

dull in his preaching, for he had very
little to encourage him in his work. This
morning ne was very much down in his
mind. He had worked hard all the week
and made his parish visits as usual, but
somehow he felt as if he couldn't be
useful there anymore, and that he ought !
to go away and let the people have a
minister whom they would like better.
So with his mind almost made up to an |
nounce his resignation that morning, he |
started for church with his sermon in |
his hand. He had spent good deal of |
time during the week writing it, but he
felt sure that it would not interest his !
small congregation. He was surprised
to see good many people going towards
the meeting house. Some of them he
didn seem to remember that he had
ever seen at meeting. But his surprise |
was greater when he went inside the
building. The pulpit was all covered
with flowers, long pieces of ground pine
and punches of colored leaves. Children
were going very quietly about, putting
a flower at the entrance to every pew,
and others were putting lunches be-
tween the windows. 1t was a different
man who gave out the opening hymn
from the one who left his house only a
few minutes before. Instead of the
small congregation he was accustomed
to see, nearly every pew was filled. He
never heard the singing so hearty.
When it came to the sermon, he took
the one he had written and spread it out
before him. But before he gave out
the text a feeling came over him that
he must talk to them about the beauti
full flowers which surrounded him as he
stood in the pulpit. So he said, MY
text this morning, my dear brethren
and sisters, is Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they toll not,
neither do they spin; And yet say unto
you, That even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew, 6, 1929. " And then he went
on to say how thankful he was to see
the flowers this morning, for he felt
nothing was more fitting for God S
house. He was sure that our Heavenly
Father loved flowers. 1t was He that
created them in the beginning, that put
life in the seed and made them grow
Even if no human being looked at the
most of them, yet not one escaped His
loving notice. From the words of his
text he was equally sure that the Lord
Jesus Christ loved flowers and especially
:, lilies. To illustrate how helpful flower
could be in our lives, he told them of a
young woman whom he knew who lived
:. on farm miles away from the village
and gave her whole life to helping her
mother who was very feeble after long
u and serious illness. There were so many
children that she hardly had any time
for outside work. Her hone was SO
far from the village that she often could
not get to church, especially in winter,
or Sunday school or the sewing circle
= she enjoyed so much. The one thing
she would have liked would have been to
be missionary to the poor people in a
city, or to the heather in Africa OF
e Asia. Then she would have been of
v some use in the world. But now she
g felt that her life was really thrown
| away. One afternoon as she was going
- through some woods in their pasture
e she saw little wood sorrel flower, OF
8 oxalis, and thought, OH what a pity
I, 10 81
it blossom in the woods where no one will
q ever see it and enjoy its lovliness. That
e night she dreamed that she was in the
t woods again and saw the flower. Some
y thing, she did not know what, made hei
8 stoop down and whisper to it, "Deal
it flower, am so sorry that you have t.
q blossom here in the forest where ne
n one can see you" To her amusement
x the oxalis whispered back, "You needn'
p be sorry for me. am perfectly happy
d for know that my Heavenly Father
e sees me and loves me, and | am glad t.
t. be beautiful just for His sake" Ther
% there came into her mind the conviction
Z. why then my Heavenly Father loves me
id and watches me and is glad when / d.
It my little home duties faithfully. VIVA
g more can l ask for than this, and I
10 never-failing joy entered into her lif'
g from that moment. Then he reminded
at his attentive hearers of the fact tina
ir all our lives were like flowers. Som
lie grew and blossomed in beautiful
20 gardens: some by the roadside; AM
id countless others in meadows, pasture
at and forests. But they differed from tn
| flowers in this, that they could max
t themselves beautiful or ugly just a
ct they pleased, while the flowers Away
!" tried to be beautiful. They reached on
ut for every nearby atom of dirt tina