DEVOTIONAL COLUMN.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 22 September 1928, Page 2

DEVOTIONAL COLUMN.

SOMETHING FOR SUNDAY.

COUNTING CUE DAYS. “Daddy,’’ said a sick woman in our hospital, a few clays ago, “What day is it? Is it morning or evening? How long have 1 been here? When shad Ibe aide to go home?” She had lately come through a serious operation and -was very weak. She had lost all count ofadays aiid time, as many other sufferers 'had in the big institution where she lay. Daddy told her that they expected her to be well enough to leave in a fortnight, and she whispered over to herself, “Fourteen days? I shall count them; but really, I'forget. I don’t seem able to remember them, they; are all alike here. When the morning comes I soon want it to be night again; and when, the* evening comes I want it to be daylight.” Such is the monotonous experience of thousands of' sufferers. And ’ they do well who, though not able to relieve pain, take to. the bedside their own cheery presence and encourage the sick ones to believe the days of absence from home and friends are nearly done. There is a birthday party at emplace. It is.a little girl’s party, and all the little guests are comparing notes as to the days of the week in which they came into the world. They have already numbered their years, if not the davs which they have spent here. But just now they are concerned with the effect of being born on any certain clay of the week. “What day was yours, Jane,” they say. “Oh, Saturday, I think.” “Then you win have to work hard for your living” is the response. Friday is Mary’s day, and she is promptly told she will have to be “loving and giving,” an idea which may yet need to sink a little further into Mary’s mind. These little people are not really superstitious; they are only playing with ideas which in past years were more strongly held, and. which still have a shadowy survival in a few older minds. Of course, we are sorry for Peggy who, being a Wednesday’s child is “full of woe.” Betty, however, is elated by the thought of having “far to go;” she already like travelling. We do not attach much importance to the for-tune-telling rhyme. As an “accessory after the fact” there is, undoubtedly, something in it. The effect of-accept-ing the prospect held out by each day’s special significance is what tells its tale, if there is anything at all in it. We all know how young minds _ are bent by such apparently simple things as pictures of horses and ships, when they are seen day after day in the home. ■K- *'■ ' *’ , All good farmers keep their diaries. When first bought, the diary presents a clean space for each day of the year. When done with, it is a record of the year’s work. From that record the farmer is'able to make up the cost of so many days ploughing, sowing, cultivating and reaping. Or he may make an estimate of his lambs, his wool, his profit from poultry, or any other lino in which he is fanning. The days aie essential to this record, because days lost through bad weather, or the taking of pleasure reduce the value of his year’s work. Solomon remarks that ‘‘The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold.” He also gives us a graphic picture of the farm that was grown all over with thorns and nettles, and where the fences were all broken down. The farmer, in this case, hated work. The days passed, but he reckoned that there were plenty more days. He neither numbered those which went by. Ho thought nothing of the vile seeds which were dropping still further broadcast, ■ nor of the fierce droughts and the stormy days looming ahead. And the world needs good farmers; men who number the days, and find, oven on the bad days, some arrears of work under cover, which may be overtaken.. All this applies equally to those departments -of life for which our young men are supposed to be fitting themselves. Certainly much of our most valuable knowledge and experience is picked up after we leave the centres of training. Many of ns, in our maturer' years, marvel at the little we know as the result of our supposed .learning. We would g iv |- much to be able to begin again; and yet, made as we are, it is almost certain that we should again todow Hie old road of indolence and non-applica-tion. We should not number our days so as to make them cover the tune required for special - or general knowledge, but rather as those who are eondemnocl to terms of imprisonment, ihe lack of ambition,, apart from that which rules in sports, is really deplorable. Two things are badly needed in the development of youthful character; one is. a- sense of, fitness for special service; and the other, .a sense of time. In some wav or another they should be taught to --number. their days, so that they .may apply their hearts unto wisdom.- 'y y. Wisdom,.-o’ course, is the oppo-Lo (<; foolishness. It is sometimes’said that there is no .fool like an .old fool. Ihm, however, .may be questioned. _ n old fool is, certainly a pitiable object, but his foolishness now is the crystallised foolishness of his younger days; it is not a new thing. One of the saddest sights we have is that- of an elderly man or .woman who seems unable to grasp the idea of life’s purpose and its destiny. "When the inevitable change is approaching, wc feel that we would like to awaken some hopeful thoughts in their minds; it is deplorable __ tnat they should appear to go out in darkness. And yet, we find no responsive chord. This short article may be read by numbers of good-living and wellmeaning people, who ' because they think so little of the few years left to thorn have given no thought to the summing up of the days when the end dues come. Undoubtedly, our days are being-, thus,--totalled- -.up, along with the results achieved, both in and service. We are really the keepers pi pur otyn diaries. That inner ness which waits on memory is remark* , ably like the cinematograph machine.

Everyday, day after, day the films are being shot and stored in the imperishable house we call our soul. In some cases the unwinding begins whilst we are able to estimate our work and to adjust our attitude. Yet, sooner or later, it is inevitable that' the whole will be screened for our inspection. It is essential that we should look, both backward and forward, numbering the days, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. We hear sometimes of one who has been told that he has, say, only six months to live. Quite .recently we were told that a young woman in this unfortunate state declared that she was going to have a good time while it lasted. That, in her case, meant a gay time. How much better is the account given of Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealander, too. This handicap was placed upon her. She says, “1 have decided to start again.” A. great spiritual change was blessing and the work of her declining days .breathes that blessing. Her cry, when facing the end, was, _ ‘ ‘Lord, make me crystal clear, for Thy light to shine through . . . 1 feel happy —deep down. 1 All is weir.”