| The Glory of the Common Life |
Chapter 9 |
Page 6 |
The superintendent of a hospital in Mexico, a hospital chiefly for workers on a new railroad, writes of her amazement over the way some persons are brought in from accidents, with scarcely a trace of life remaining, and yet how life persists in them. She tells of one with both arms torn away at the shoulders, of both limbs broken in two or three places, head cut and torn, body bruised, yet living and recovering. How frail we are, and yet what persistent life we have! God loves us, and will shelter us from harm, and will keep us from being destroyed, if only we will let our lives lie in his hands, trusting and obeying him. “We prevail by yielding; we succumb to conquer, like those sea flowers which continue to bloom amid the surf, where the rocks crumble.” We have seen flowers growing sweet and fresh in the early spring days under the great snow drifts. So God hides and protects the gentle lives of those who trust in him, in the very snow banks of trouble and trial which surround them. The least and feeblest of us can keep ourselves unspotted in the sorest perils, if we hide away under the shelter of the divine love.
The secret of coming through suffering and struggle unharmed is to learn that we must endure for the sake of others. It helps us to be strong when we know that others will be affected by our victory or defeat – helped when we endure nobly, harmed if we prove unfaithful. Some one writes: “We shall be glad, really glad of everything that has come to us, no matter if it be sorrow or pain, when we find that our experience fits some one else’s needs – that some one else can build on our lives.” It makes us strong to be true and pure and noble and worthy when we know others will be influenced by the way we stand the test. We dare not fail when others are depending on us.
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