After three months Bessie returned home for a short
visit with her parents. Upon her arrival she
not only found a loving and tender welcome, but also
learned that both her parents had accepted her call
as from God. After a happy visit of two weeks
she returned to her work. With the blessing of
God upon her labors, we shall here bid her good-by.
In conclusion, we wish to say that what she became
was principally in answer to her faithful mother’s
prayers. Had she been left—as many
girls are—without a mother’s tender
love and confidence, mingled with many earnest prayers,
she would have fallen into temptations that she never
knew. She had fully proved the worth of a praying
mother.
A PLEA TO MOTHERS.
Home as God intended it is built upon the corner-stone
of virtue and prayer. It makes no difference
how beautiful the house nor how grand its contents,
if the mother is a woman who does not care for God
or virtue, the corner-stone of that home is lacking.
Such a home can not stand when trial and temptation
enter.
A stream never rises above its source, nor a home
above the ideals of its founders. No matter how
humble the home, do not belittle its possibilities.
Anything so sacred as home can command heaven’s
choicest and best blessings. The humblest cabin
may contain that element which makes home the shrine
of happiness and the temple of peace, and will cause
it to send forth saints and heroes.
Oh that parents, especially mothers, could realize
their influence in the home, their power to direct
the young minds around them into the proper channel!
Let us so educate and train the children that they
will be able to get the greatest good from their natural
endowment and that they may use it in such a manner
as will bring the most glory to God. So train
them and so live before them in the home that in after-years
they will say with pleasure: “This precept
was always taught me by my parents. Father and
Mother’s holy example has been a priceless birthright
to me.”
This is true parenthood. It should be the ideal
in every home. By this I mean parents who realize
their responsibility and have their children’s
best interest at heart; parents who will sacrifice
any pleasure of their own for the benefit and happiness
of their little ones; parents who will not only bid
their children a hearty welcome into the world, but
will care for their future from that moment, and who
have the love and respect of their entire household.
You may say that parents like these are few and hard
to find. True, but it is equally so that, with
proper knowledge and understanding, many would approach
this standard. Perhaps some have allowed years
to slip carelessly by and their darlings to pass seemingly
beyond their control. To such I would say, It
is never too late to pray.
