Article January 16, 1932 Issue

Giving What We Have

EDNA B. WILLIAMS

A Tropical storm had swept over a beautiful garden, leaving destruction and disorder in its wake. When it had passed, the keeper of the garden sought lovingly to render aid to the drooping plants and tangled vines. Much was done in the way of resetting shrubs and removing litter, until some degree of order was brought out of the chaos. However, a heavy trellis which had fallen upon a beautiful hibiscus bush resisted her best effort to remove it. Evidently greater strength than hers was needed here. A week passed, and still the bush lay prone upon the ground beneath the heavy load.

One morning the keeper of the garden walked among her now rapidly awakening shrubs with a heavy heart, weighed down with a problem to the solution of which she had for a long time unsuccessfully given her best efforts. In an unguarded moment discouragement had been allowed to enter her consciousness, and in its train came self-pity, hurt pride, and resentment, which irritated and tormented her. With this handicap, argued the tempter, how could one hope to compete with those who were unencumbered! Then why try; why not give up? At this point a turn in the garden path brought her directly to the disabled hibiscus bush—and, wondrous sight, the bush had reached out a branch from beneath the encumbering trellis, and this branch was holding aloft two gorgeous blossoms!

The lesson went straight home. It was seen that the bush was doing what it could in spite of its handicap: it was giving to the garden what it had of beauty at a time when beauty was greatly needed. Then and there the mesmerism which had darkened thought was broken, and discouragement with its train of false arguments was recognized as an effort of the carnal mind to rob a worker of her usefulness and her opportunity for progress. The clouds lifted, and gratitude and thanksgiving took the place of complaining.

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