The Hadleys' Mottoes

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 22, 1882

The Hadleys' Mottoes.

'"Man never is, but always to be blest,"' read Belle, out of her parsing-book. "I wonder what that means. 'Man' is a noun"—then she dropped her book and looked out of the window. It was very pleasant outside. Peach blossoms and apple blossoms, violets and lilies of the valley, green grass and glad sunshine, with rippling water, murmuring bees, and busy, joyous birds—all did their part toward making a happy world.

Annie, sitting by the other window, sewing, scarcely noticed the beauty and fragrance around her, and heard neither the brook nor the birds, so busy was she planning and dreaming of the nice time she hoped to have in the White Mountains, where she expected to go with a party of young friends. Every little detail was gone over in her mind, and she thought of all sorts of pleasant little incidents and adventures which might happen during the trip, and which she would enjoy to the full. "Two weeks of perfect enjoyment, I hope," she said to herself. "Oh dear, I almost wish it was August now. It is so dull here at home;" and she gave a little sigh, and a rather impatient pull at her needle.

Little Minnie came running in just then, with her hands full of dandelions. "See, Annie," she said, "are they not pretty?"

"Very," said Annie, smiling; "they are like condensed sunshine."

"I don't like dandelions much," said Belle, rather discontentedly. "Wait till the roses come, Minnie, and the pinks; then you'll have pretty flowers to play with. Won't it be nice when the roses come," she added, "for then vacation will come, too!"

"Won't it be nice when the roses tum?" echoed Minnie, sitting down on the floor, and proceeding to pull her dandelions to pieces.

"How queer you girls are!" said Tom, who was just outside the window, helping Willie mend their velocipede. "Two weeks ago you were all wishing for the apple and peach blossoms, and telling Minnie about the violets, and now that they are all here, you are wishing for roses and pinks. When everything is nice, why can't you be satisfied. If every one of those blossoms was only a ripe peach now, I'd be happy; won't we have a good time next fall, though!" And Thomas smacked his lips at the thought.

"There, now!" said Willie, "you're as bad as the girls, wishing. It's wicked to wish for things you can't have; mother says so."

"I'm not wishing for things I can't have," said Tom, argumentatively. "I'm only thinking how nice it will be when something I expect to have comes."

"It's about the same thing, though," rejoined Willie. "You're not satisfied, and you ought to be satisfied. I am. There, now, this old velocipede is fixed. Won't it be nice if papa buys Smith's pony. I wish he would; we'd be just happy then."

Annie had been listening to the children's clatter, and she couldn't help laughing at Willie's sudden fall into the fault he had just been so virtuously condemning. "'Man never is, but always to be blest,'" she quoted.

"What are you laughing at, Annie?" asked Tom.

"I could not help laughing at Willie," she said, "for doing the very thing for which he has been scolding you."

"I wasn't dissatisfied, Annie," said Willie, in rather an injured tone; "I was only thinking that we will have more fun when we have the pony. There's no harm in that, is there?"

Annie paused a minute before replying: "Well, if there is, Willie, I will have to plead guilty, too; for I have been doing about the same thing all the afternoon—thinking about the White Mountains. But I believe there is harm in it, though I never thought of it before; but we can't really appreciate our present comforts and blessings, if we are all the time thinking how much more we will enjoy ourselves when things are different."

"What made you say that sentence out of my parsing-book, Annie—'Man never is, but always to be blest'—what does it mean?" asked Belle.

"It means just what we have been talking about," said Annie: "that people never are really happy and contented, but that they always expect to be happy as soon as they get or accomplish something that they have set their hearts on, and then, when they get it, they don't stop to think what a blessing it is, and how they enjoy it, but begin right away to wish for something else."

"Well, if every one does that way, it must be all right," said Tom.

"Because every one does something, doesn't make it right, Tom, and besides, leaving out all question of right and wrong, it is certainly very foolish and short-sighted in us never to think of and enjoy the blessings we have, because we are all the time longing for those we hope to have, and thinking how much better they will be. Now, for instance, instead of Belle's and Minnie's wishing for roses, and you boys wanting peaches and ponies"—("I only want one," interrupted Willie)—"and, instead of my thinking so much about the White Mountain trip, we were all to stop and consider what a pleasant time we are really having now—how nice blossoms and velocipedes are—what a lovely world this is, with its beauty and birds and sunshine—what a comfortable home we have, and how nice it is for us all to be at home together—I think we should be happier and better for it. It really seems to be wicked for us to have all these great blessings, and then scarcely to take the time to think about them and be thankful for them, because we are so busy planning and wishing for other ones."

"Does the Bible say anything about not wishing for things, Annie?" asked Belle.

"I don't remember anything about wishing, but I know there is a verse, 'Godliness and contentment is great gain;' and Paul says, 'I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content,' and gives the command, 'Be content with such things as ye have.' They are about the contentment, but if we are contented with what we have, we won't wish for anything."

"What a long talk we've had, just because I wished for roses," said Belle. "Now I suppose we must stop wishing, and just 'think of our mercies,' as Aunt Chloe says."

"Humph!" said Tom, contemptuously, "would you have us sit down on the floor, and say, 'how nice this is? 'Aren't we having a good time?'"

"Yes," said Annie, laughing. "I think it would be a good plan. Perhaps Belle will paint for us a motto, 'Don't we have a good time,' and put it up where we can all see it all the time. I think it would be an excellent reminder to make us think of and be thankful for our present blessings."

"There come papa and mamma," said Belle; "I wonder what they will say."

Mr. and Mrs. Hadley came in from their walk, and after chatting a minute, Mrs. Hadley said: "It is a lovely day. Everything is so fresh and bright out of doors, it makes the house look dingy. I wish we had the new carpet and hangings; it would make the room look so much prettier." (Belle began to smile.)

"We ought to be in the house as little such weather as possible," said Mr. Hadley. "I shall be so glad when you get a good girl in the kitchen, Margaret, so that you and the girls can have more time to enjoy the beauties of nature."

At this the children all laughed.

"Papa and mamma are wishing, too," said Tom. "What is the matter, children?" asked Mr. Hadley, in his mild way.

Then Belle told what they had been talking about, and finished by saying that Annie had said she might paint for a motto, "Aren't we having a nice time?"

Mrs. Hadley laughed her cheery, motherly laugh. "Well, dear," she said, "I hope you will do it. It will do me good to look at it, as well as the rest of you. Don't you think it's a good plan, papa?"

"Excellent," said Mr. Hadley; "it will help us all to be happy, and then, Belle, you must paint another: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits;' and we will hang the two together, so that we may remember to be thankful as well as contented."

Belle was very fond of painting, and she brought out her materials and began at once to sketch her designs for the mottoes.—New York Observer.