Leaves of Life, for Daily Inspiration. Margaret Bird Steinmetz
mind, and look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. … The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power. —Hugh White. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.—Psalm 126. 6. My Father, help me to survey my life. Make me compassionate and considerate, that I may be qualified to promote that which is helpful. May I appreciate that what is worth keeping I can obtain from thee. Amen. FEBRUARY FOURTEENTHTable of Contents Saint Valentine's Day.Captain James Cook killed 1779.Jean Ernest Reynaud born 1808.Oh! little loveliest lady mine, What shall I send for your valentine? Summer and flowers are far away; Gloomy old Winter is king to-day; Buds will not blow, and sun will not shine: What shall I do for a valentine? I've searched the gardens all through and through For a bud to tell of my love so true; But buds are asleep and blossoms are dead, And the snow beats down on my poor little head: So, little loveliest lady mine, Here is my heart for your valentine. —Laura E. Richards. Oh rank is gold, and gold is fair, And high and low mate ill; But love has never known a law Beyond its own sweet will! —John G. Whittier. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God. —1 John 4. 7. Loving Father, may I not fall to nodding in the balmy air of luxury and miss the messages of love. Arouse me, that I may give and take in the treasures of love as they come my way, and that they may not pass unnoticed. Amen. FEBRUARY FIFTEENTHTable of Contents Galileo Galilei born 1564.Louis XV born 1710.S. Weir Mitchell born 1829.Sir Frederick Treves born 1853.The night I know is nigh at hand, The mists lie low on hill and bay, The autumn sheaves are brown and dry, But I have had the day. Yes, I have had, dear Lord, the day. When at thy call I have the night Brief be the twilight as I pass From light to dark, from dark to light. —S. Weir Mitchell. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small—too small to be worth talking about, for the day of adversity is its first real opportunity. —Maltbie Babcock. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. —Romans 8. 37. My Father, may my daily work not be the means of separating me from thee, but may I have thee for my companion through my work. Forbid that I should ever submit to despair from weakness of body, but that I may be blest and grow strong as my spirit lives in thee. Amen. FEBRUARY SIXTEENTHTable of Contents Philip Melanchthon born 1497.Gasper de Coligny born 1517.Thomas Robert Malthus born 1766.Ernst Heinrich Haeckel born 1834.Thy love shall chant its own beatitudes After its own life working. A child's kiss Set on thy sighing lips shall make thee glad. A poor man served by thee shall make thee rich; A sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong; Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense Of service which thou renderest. —Elizabeth B. Browning. Ask nothing more of me, sweet; All I can give you I give. Heart of my heart, were it more, More would be laid at your feet: Love that should help you to live, Song that should help you to soar. —Algernon Charles Swinburne. All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them. —Matthew 7. 12. Lord God, I pray that I may not neglect the help and happiness that I may give with compassion and love. Make me strong in all the senses that answer to the call of humanity. Help me to guide and protect little children, and to care for the comforts of the old. Amen. FEBRUARY SEVENTEENTHTable of Contents Kate Greenaway born 1846.Michael Angelo Buonarroti died 1563.Giordano Bruno burned at Rome 1600.Molière died 1673.Rose Terry Cooke born 1827.Frances E. Willard died 1898.It is not much To give a gentle word or kindly touch To one gone down Beneath the world's cold frown, And yet who knows How great a thing from such a little grows? O, oftentimes, Some brother upward climbs And hope again Uplifts its head, that in the dust had lain, Gives place to morning's light. —E. H. Divall. I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick. —Ezekiel 34. 16. My Father, may I not sorrow so that I fail to comfort the sorrowing, and may I not be so happy that I fail to see that others need to be glad. I thank thee for thy providences. May I serve thee in helping others to brighter lives. Amen. FEBRUARY EIGHTEENTHTable of Contents Martin Luther died 1546.George Peabody born 1795.Wilson Barrett born 1846.A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing: Our helper he amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great: And, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal. —Martin Luther. Let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light that I have. —Abraham Lincoln. Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge.—Psalm 18. 2. Lord God, help me to lay my life in the rocks of thy foundation, and not in moving sands which are tossed from shore to shore. May I cling to the rock that was cleft for me and trust for thy care. Amen. FEBRUARY NINETEENTHTable of Contents Copernicus born 1473.Leonard Bacon born 1802.W. W. Story born 1819.Adelina Patti born 1843.So mine are these new fruitings rich, The simple to the common brings; I keep the youth of souls who pitch Their joy in this old heart of things; Full lasting is the song, though he The singer passes; lasting too, For souls not lent in usury, The rapture of the forward view. —George Meredith. All deep things are Song. It seems, somehow, the very central essence of us, Song; as if all the rest were wrappages and hulls! the primal element of us; of us, and all things. —Thomas Carlyle. Ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah. —Isaiah 30. 29. Lord God, help me to feel the power of praise. "As words without thoughts never to heaven go," so the highest praises are never sung alone, but rendered with service and love. May I have the heart to sing thy praises far and near, and rejoice in him from whom all blessings flow. Amen. FEBRUARY TWENTIETHTable of Contents J. H. Voss born 1828.Joseph Jefferson born 1829.Mihaly Munkacsy (Michael Lieb) born 1844. Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors. —Voltaire. Lo, Spring comes forth with all her warmth and love, She brings sweet justice from the realms above; She breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead; Two butterflies ascend encircling her head. And so this emblem shall forever be A sign of immortality.—Joseph Jefferson.Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.—Psalm 73. 24. Lord God, I pray that I may not neglect my soul in trying to fathom immortal life. If I may be hesitating between comfort and work, remind me of the greatness of the place which I started to reach. May I not grow weary of climbing and falter on the stair. Breathe upon me thy inspiration and love, that I may continue in faith all the way. Amen. FEBRUARY TWENTY-FIRSTTable of Contents Edmund William Gosse born 1849.Karl Czerny born 1791.Cardinal John H. Newman born 1801.Jean L. E. Meissonier born 1815.Alice Freeman Palmer born 1855.Prune thou thy words, the thoughts control That o'er thee swell and throng; They will condense within thy soul, And change to purpose strong. —John H. Newman. Think truly, and thy thoughts Shall the world's famine feed; Speak truly, and each word of thine Shall be a fruitful seed; Live truly, and thy life shall be A great and noble creed. —Horatio Bonar. We ought to love everybody and make everybody love us. Then everything else is easy. —Alice Freeman Palmer. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward. —Isaiah 58. 8. Almighty God, look upon me with pity; so often I have obeyed the thoughts that have been misleading and profitless. Make me more careful of what I think and say, and may I learn from my mistakes the forbidden paths. Help me to keep my mind in unity with thy will. Amen. FEBRUARY TWENTY-SECONDTable of Contents George Washington, Virginia, first President