The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1916-05-25
Out of the Silence.

We do not find our greatest hap
piness and enjoyment in the vari-
Gus activities and Commissions of
life, nor do we find our highest
measure of satisfaction in our
largest achievements. 1t is in our
moments of relaxation from high
tension that we find tha sweet re-
lief we crave and the subsequent
refreshment and regeneration of
our tired bodies, and if such is
true of our physical condition how
much more so is it true of our men,
tai state.
The voices out Of the silence are
heard only when we listen for
them, and we cannot possibly do
that in the midst of LIES strife
and confusion and bitterness. We
must shed all these blightning in
fluences as we do our dusty gar
ments and turn away from them
to prepare ourselves anew to meet
life's problems and to sound its
meaning correctly. The voices
that speak from out of the silence
are not those Of greed or gain or
unworthy ambition or selfish in
terests. They spring from pure
source and can find their way only
to a pure heart. They have no
message to tell the sinful man who
shuts out Gods silence by crowd
ing into his life worldly tempta-
tons except the message of re-
pentance, and sometimes that
message cannot make itself heard
through all the din and confusion.
They do the most good and are
heard the clearest by those who
listen for them, and whose faculty
Of hearing becomes more acute
the more it tries to penetrate the
great silence which comes to US at
times when We weary of the rush
and turmoil and dissatisiactions of
life and its competitions.
Perhaps these voices speak the
clearest to those Of US who wait for
them when we come to some place
IN life where we feel as though we
had lost the way, and were hem
med in on all sides and unable to
break through at any point. Such
a condition cannot last forever
and although at times the strain
may grow even greater and the
clashing Of all sorts of interests
and aims may make bedlam in our
ears, still there is also the better
chanceo all confusion dying away
and being replaced by that great
golden silence of relief and refresh
ment which sometimes comes to
those who seek the quieter walks
of life. 1t is then that we hear th e
soft insistent voices of hope and
love, renewed in the healing ST.
lence of the soul, speak to US in a
new and better language than ever
before, and with more appealing,
more encouraging promise than
We could have hoped for. lis in
the understanding of such Ian
guage that our greater hope forthe
future rests; not only our hope,
indeed, but our actual strength
and guidance for the present as
we'll. Dat Of the silences which
follow our rouls' REGENERATION
come the best and fairest of our
ambitions voiced in a way that
urges their adoption and their
ultimate realization. We cannot
afford to let ourselves run riot, as
it were, in the midst of LIES un-
worthy strifes and bitternesses,
for in that event we lose our
chance of understanding some
thing of the infinite blessing and
comfort and happiness of the ST.
lences which comes to US at times.
They leave their impress upon our
souls in an unforgetable manner
because many of Us date our
higher appreciation of life from
the whole heated refreshment and
regeneration they inspire.