FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MATERNAL ASSOCIATION.
By Susanah Sisley
[The following report of the Maternal Association of the Battle Creek church, read in April last, was accidentally laid one side, and thus has been overlooked till the present time. But the friends of this important Association will be glad to see it, even at this late hour.—Ed.] “While, with ceaseless course, the sun
Hastened through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here;
Fixed is their eternal state,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little none can know.” Oh, how swiftly time flies, year after year, in quick succession, passing away. It scarcely seems possible that we have again reached the anniversary of our little Society, but so it is; and at this, our yearly gathering, a few remarks with regard to its standing will doubtless be expected. This has been a year of changes. Twelve new names have been added to our list; though but few of these persons now remain to encourage us by their presence or their labors. This is also the case with many others who at different intervals have become members of our Society. Battle Creek, on account of the various institutions located here, is a place where many come and go in quick succession. We have done what we could to interest these mothers in this important work; many have merely become members, while others have greatly encouraged us by entering heartily into the spirit of our Society, becoming active and earnest workers, and gaining our esteem and affection, so that when Providence indicated a removal necessary, it was not without a severe struggle that we could bid them farewell. Death, too, has been busy, and has taken away three of our number, two of whom were only absent from our weekly gatherings when duty demanded. We feel this to be a fitting time and place to add our tribute of love, esteem, and gratitude, to the memory of our dear sister Gardner, who, from the very formation of our Association, has been so faithful and true to its interests. For one whole year she regularly conducted our meetings, and has since, when able, taken her turn with others. The great anxiety she manifested, the earnest, agonizing pleadings she so often presented to our Father in Heaven in behalf of the different subjects presented for prayers, and also for our young mothers, that they might be awakened to a sense of their duties and dangers, “the vastness of the charge to them committed,” and make some effort to meet and mingle their prayers with the maternal band, will not soon be forgotten, and we feel that her departure has left a void that cannot easily be filled. Nor are removals and deaths the greatest discouragements we have had to contend with; for these we believe have come by divine appointment. We bow with submission and mourn, but do not repine. We know there are those among us who have superior talent and ability to make our meetings profitable and interesting; and we feel sad that they should be so overburdened with cares and duties as to feel it impossible to attend. But what we most deeply deplore is the apparent indifference of many mothers whose children are fast growing up to maturity without a change of heart, in an unconverted, unsaved state; while the end of all things is at hand, and we know not what a day may bring forth, or how soon our working time will have passed away. Now we would not infer that these mothers feel no sorrow or anxiety on account of their children, and no deep interest for their eternal welfare. This we believe to be incompatible with their nature, if they are Christians themselves. But we do feel that by staying away from meetings that have been appointed for the express purpose of uniting our prayers, and earnestly seeking divine wisdom to aid us in our unceasing, arduous duties, and for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon ourselves and our dear ones, they are depriving themselves of a great source of encouragement and strength, and are laboring and toiling alone, when they might share the sympathy of others, and perhaps be benefited by their prayers and experience. We speak warmly and earnestly on this subject; for we know by personal experience, and by that of many others, that these gatherings have often been seasons of great profit and soul-stirring interest, and that our Heavenly Father does condescend to meet with us, to hear and answer our prayers, to encourage and strengthen our hearts. We wish, indeed, we could this year record more decided cases of conversion, and that those who commenced to run well had continued zealous in the Christian race. This might have been the case had we been as earnest, humble, and importunate, as we should have been. The fault is with ourselves, and not with our faithful, unchangeable God. Surely, this is no time or place for indolence or inactivity. A great work is before us, and a great enemy is striving to hinder and discourage us. The cause of present truth, the dear youth coming among us to attend our school, followed by the fervent prayers and high expectation of many an anxious parent, our own households and our precious children, whose present well-being and future usefulness and happiness are largely committed to our control and keeping,—these have all claims upon us which we cannot delegate to another, and under which we should sink disheartened if we had only our own strength and wisdom on which to rely. Oh! how truly do the following words by another apply to all, especially to mothers:— “A sacred burden is the life ye bear;
Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly;
Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly;
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin,
But onward, upward, till the goal ye win.” Still other words from the lips of our divine Master are whispered in our ears, and find an echo in our hearts: “Without me ye can do nothing.” Well may we inquire, “Who is sufficient for these things?” The answer comes from the same divine source: “My grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in weakness.” We would gratefully acknowledge the goodness of God in inclining several dear sisters to do all in their power to encourage us, by cheerfully laboring to sustain and conduct our weekly meetings; that so many have been permitted regularly to attend; and for the love and union that prevail among us. We feel of good courage to persevere, and take this opportunity of cordially inviting those mothers who have recently come to this place, and others who have not yet attended our meetings, to unite with us. To our absent members we would say, You are not forgotten, but frequently remembered in our prayers, and we hope you do not forget us. We should rejoice to meet you again; but as this may not be, let us hear of your welfare, and the progress that you and your dear ones are making on the heavenly journey. Take courage, dear sisters, we are nearing our eternal home, where “adieus and farewells are a sound unknown;” where we shall be safe from the cruel power of the enemy—sinning, struggling, suffering all o’er; and where we shall see our blessed Saviour and be like him. Till then, may we faithfully, patiently press forward, sustained by his strong arm, and relying on his own precious words: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” The standing of the Society is as follows: Mothers belonging to the Association, 101; deceased, 4; children, 278. Battle Creek, April 19, 1876.