Everyman’s Hut

Camp News, Volume 2, Issue 65, 21 March 1941, Page 8

Everyman’s Hut

“Defeat may serve as well as victory

To shake the soul and let the glory out.

When the great oak is straining in the wind,

The boughs drink in new beauty, and the trunk

Sends down a deeper root on the windward side. '

Only the sail that knows the mighty grief

Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come

To stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.”

Steel has to pass through the fire to gain its temper, marble has to feel the bite of the chisel before it assumes the form of beauty, and through the winepress jthe 'grapes give out their juices. The heart that has never known sorrow of its own can never give true comfort to another sorrowing one. Through affliction and suffering borne with patience the soul grows to greatness. The tree that has withstood the storms of years is more deeply rooted than one that has grown up in a sheltered position. And while we all desire to see peace again, we want a peace founded on righteousness and not a compromise. May our prayer then be not that the storm may cease so that our affliction may be eased, but that the storm may cause only that the roots of the British oak may strike deeper and deeper into faith in God, that as one the 'nation may endure until it pleases Him to put down the forces

of evil. When He says “Peace, be still,” then there will be peace. And while it is a matter for thanksgiving that the national days of prayer appear to be taken more seriously, yet we must confess that there is much in the individual and national life that is not consistent with our attitude on that day. One day of prayer is not enough. Much that we like in our lives, but which is only, hindering us spiritually, must be put away, however great the sacrifice may seem. We cannot claim the help of God, but we can merit it. And when in His good will He gives the victory, let us be honest enough to give Him the thanks and not claim too much credit for the efforts of ourselves and Allies. We are deeply thankful for the aid which has been given, but should we not thank God that He has put it into the hearts of our friends across the ocean to come to our assistance in the hour of trial? May His purpose soon be fulfilled that, like Moses and the Children of Israel on the shores of the Red Sea, we may praise to God “Who both triumphed gloriously.”

According to a doctor, war always causes a number of unusual complaints. We can still recall the occasion when our sergeant-major suffered from clergyman’s sore throat!