"'I cannot do much,' said a little star,
'To make the dark world bright;
My silvery beams can not struggle far
Through the folding gloom of night;
But I'm only a part of God's great plan,
And I'll cheerfully do the best I can.'
"A child went merrily forth to play,
But a thought, like a silver thread,
Kept winding in and out, all day,
Through the happy golden head.
Mother said,--'Darling, do all you can;
For you are a part of God's great plan.'
"So he helped a younger child along,
When the road was rough to the feet,
And she sung from her heart a little song
That we all thought passing sweet;
And her father, a weary, toil-worn man,
Said, 'I, too, will do the best I can.'"
"A Noble Boy." "Not long ago," said a Christian lady, "I saw a boy do
something that made me glad for a week. Indeed it fills my heart with
tenderness and good feeling whenever I think about it. But let me
tell you what it was.
"As I was walking along a crowded street I saw an old blind man
walking on without any one to lead him. He went very slowly, feeling
his way with his cane.
"'He's walking straight to the highest part of the curb-stone,' said
I to myself. 'And it's very high too. I wonder if some one won't help
him and start him in the right direction.'
"Just then, a boy, about fourteen years old, who was playing near by,
ran up to the old man and gently putting his hand through the man's
arm, said:--'Allow me, my friend, to lead you across the street.' By
this time there were three or four others watching the boy. He not
only helped the old man over one crossing, but led him over another
to the lower side of the street. Then he ran back to his play.
"Now this boy thought he had only done an act of kindness to that old
man. But just see how much farther than that the use of his one
talent went. The three boys with whom he was playing, and who had
watched his kind act, were happier and better for it, and felt that
they must be more careful to do little kindnesses to those about
them.
"The three or four persons who stopped to watch the boy turned away
with a tender smile upon their faces, ready to follow the good
example of that noble boy. I am sure that I felt more gentle and
loving towards every one, from what I saw that boy do.
"And then, another one that was made happy was the boy himself. For,
it is impossible for us to do a kind act, or to make any one else
happy, without feeling better and happier ourselves. To _be_ good and
to _do_ good, is the way to be happy. This is our mission here in
this world. Whatever talents our Master has given us, he intends that
we should use them in this way."
"Tiny's Work for God." Two little girls, Leila and Tiny, were
sitting, one summer day, under the tree which grew beside their home.
Both children had been quiet for a little while, when suddenly Tiny
raised her blue eyes and said, "I _am_ so happy, Leila. I do love the
flowers, and the birdies, and you, and everybody so much." Then she
added, in a whisper, "And I love God, who made us all so happy.
Sister, I wish I could do something for him."
"Mother says if we love him, that is what he likes best of all," said
Leila.
"Yes, but I do want to _do_ something for him--something that would
give me trouble. Can't you think of anything?"
Leila thought a little, and said, "Perhaps you could print a text
for the flowers mother sends every week to the sick people in the
hospital. They are so glad to have the flowers, and then the text
might help them think about our Father in heaven."
"Oh! thank you, sister, that will be so nice! I will write--'Suffer
the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.'"
But Tiny was only a little over four years old, and it was hard for
her to hold a pen, but she managed to print two letters every day
till the text was finished. Then she went alone to her room, and
laying the text on a chair, she kneeled down beside it, and
said--"Heavenly Father, I have done this for you: please take it from
Tiny, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." And God heard the prayer, for
he always listens when children truly pray.
So Tiny's text was sent up to London, and a lady put a very pretty
flower into the card and took it to the hospital. She stopped beside
a bed where a little boy was lying. His face was almost as white as
the pillow on which he lay, and his dark eyes were filled with tears.
"Is the pain very bad to-day, Willie?"
"Yes, miss; its dreadful-like. But it's not so much the pain as I
mind. I'm used to that, yer know. Father beat me every day a'most,
when he was drunk. But the doctor says I'm too ill for 'im to 'ave
any 'opes for me, and I'm mighty afeard to die."
"If you had a friend who loved you, and you were well, would you be
afraid to go and stay with him, Willie?"
"Why no, I'd like to go, in course."
"I have brought you a message from a Friend, who has loved you all
your life long. He wants you to trust him, and to go and live with
him. He will love you always, and you will always be happy."
Then the lady read Tiny's text, "_Suffer the little children to come
unto me, and forbid them not._" She told him how Jesus had died, and
then had risen again, and had gone to heaven, to prepare a place for
_him_, and for many other children. She told him how Jesus is still
saying "Come," and his hand is still held out to bless.
So Willie turned to the Good Shepherd, and was no longer afraid. A
few days afterwards he whispered--"Lord Jesus, I am coming;" and he
died with Tiny's text in his hand.
That little girl used the talent that was given her, and it helped
to bring a soul to Jesus.