CHAPTER I.


TWO SCENES.

How delightful to step into the home where God is counselor of both
parent and child! How blessed the companionship in such a home! There
God counsels in sweet, tender tones. He teaches his will and gives the
needed wisdom. God is man's truest and best teacher. James says, "If any
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally
... and it shall be given him." Be the home ever so beautiful, if it is
not a house of prayer, it is not a place of true happiness. Parents
should often commune with the Lord; especially the mother, with her many
cares and perplexities, if she would do justice to the little ones
entrusted to her care.

A beautiful picture now comes to my mind--a picture of an ideal mother
of olden time. She dwelt in Ramah of Palestine. Her lonely home nestled
among the lonely hills. She loved to commune with the Lord, for deep in
her bosom she carried a sorrow that only he could help her to bear. Her
home lacked that sweet sunlight which innocent childhood brings. She
longed and prayed for a little life to guide and direct in the ways of
the Lord.

Once every year she went with her husband to Shiloh, where sacrifices
were offered, and there publicly worshiped the Lord. When at the house
of the Lord one day, she prayed long and earnestly that God would grant
the desire of her heart. "O Lord of hosts," she prayed, "if thou wilt
indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and