| The Ministry of Comfort |
Chapter 19 |
Page 6 |
We can do nothing better either for ourselves or for the world in which we live than to learn the lesson of praise, of thanksgiving. We should begin at once to take singing lessons, learning to sing only joyous songs. Of course there are troubles in every life, but there are a thousand good things to one that is sad. Sometimes we have disappointments, but even these are really God’s appointments, as some day we shall find out. People will sometimes be unkind to us, but we should go on loving just as before, our heart full of unconquerable kindness. No matter what comes we should sing and be thankful, and should always keep sweet. One writes:
“Suppose a world of troubles do
Annoy you day by day;
Suppose that friends considered true
Your trust in them betray;
And rocks may bruise and thorns may tear
Your worn and weary feet,
And every day you meet a snare–
Keep sweet.
“Suppose you have not each desire
That forms within your mind;
And earth denies you half your hire,
And heaven seems quite unkind;
And you have not the best to wear,
Nor yet the best to eat–
You seem to have the meanest fare–
Keep sweet.
“A sour heart will make things worse
And harder still to bear,
A merry heart destroys the curse
And makes the heavens fair.
So I advise, whate’er your case–
Whatever you may meet,
Dwell on the good–forget the base–
Keep sweet.”
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