Lighten the morning, fill the day
With visions from the infinite;
Throw hope across the saddened way,
Change the soiled robes for garments white,
And let us see through winsome grace
An angel in the commonplace.
Let us exalt all common things
To high endeavour and great aims
And see the glint of angel wings
Shining across the familiar names,
And understand that it is given
To earth to be the door of heaven.
Oh, homely faces of dear friends,
And household pictures in the fires,
And humble duties with wise ends,
And faithful loves and pure desires!
Could we not better lose than these
All unfamiliar joys that please?
No work any man can do for Christ is more important than what he can do and should do in his own home. No measure of faithfulness in public Christian duties will excuse fathers and mothers for the neglect of the spiritual care and culture of their own households. Perhaps, too, there is no part of Christian duty that is more apt to be neglected in these days than that which we owe to our homes. On the one hand the business life and club life of many men make them almost ciphers of influence in their own families, especially in the line of religious influence. On the other hand, the social life and other outside engagements of many women so fill their hands that they find little time for the beautiful and gentle service they might render in their own homes.
Page 1