Article March 2, 1907 Issue

JOY

MARTHA E. KILLIE.

It had been one of a succession of rather weary days; material thought seemed to hold sway. An old ailment, and the only one of many which had not yet wholly yielded to the action of Truth, seemed to assert itself persistently. Even the declarations of Truth, whose wondrous power had been proven to me so many times, seemed mechanical and void of results. With a heart yearning for its rightful heritage of light and peace, I was about my daily duties when these words from Isaiah came to me, "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not." I went to a pile of old Sentinels that were stored away, took out a copy at random, and the first article that caught my attention was entitled "Rejoicing." It was just a little experience in the life of one faithful student, woven into a love-message and sent out to cheer and brighten the hopes of thousands of readers, who might forget the Scriptural command, "Rejoice always."

For a brief moment mortal sense seemed to whisper, "How can I rejoice when the shadows seem to hang so heavy? Is joy something to be forced? Should it not be spontaneous? Immediately the words of Jesus came to mind, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." Could the loving Saviour bid his followers to "rejoice, and be exceeding glad," under the most trying human conditions, did he not, with his clearer vision, see all about them the ever-present source of joy? Then I remembered the words of James, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." Also Peter's ringing words, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth. though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." These and many other familiar passages of Scripture came as angel messages to my thought, until every shadow was dispelled.

Then memory recalled a beautiful demontration of joy given at one of our testimonial meetings. A young mother told that her two little girls in the evening had complained of illness, that she denied the error, but in the morning they seemed worse, and before noon both were in bed, and unable to speak aloud. All the afternoon she labored faithfully, declaring the truth, but with no apparent result. Toward evening, with a heavy heart, she went to the telephone to ask her teacher for help. She told her how faithfully she had done everything she could. "Everything?" asked the teacher. "Yes, everything." "Have you rejoiced?" "No." "Then rejoice." She went to the piano, which had been silent all day, and began to play and sing the beautiful hymn by Mrs. Eddy, "Shepherd, show me how to go" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 397). She played and sang the first verse, ending, "I will follow and rejoice all the rugged way," over and over again; and as she did so the shadows melted away and a sense of peace enfolder her. She kept on singing, and soon she heard from the adjoining room a chorus of little voices. The little ones were sitting up in bed and singing with clear, glad voices the hymn so dear to them, which they had learned in Sunday School. Every vestige of the trouble which had all day seemed so real, had melted away; and the young mother learned, as we all must learn, that the seed of truth may be sown in tears or amid clouds of anxiety, but they need the sunlight of joy before they can burst into full fruitage.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

JOY

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access