and ineffective personality a visitation of Providence. Things do not
_happen_ in the realm of the spiritual any more than in the realm of
nature. Everything is _caused_. Personality grows. It takes its form in
the thick of the day's work and its play. It is shaped in the crush and
stress of life's problems and its duties. It gains its quality from the
character of the thoughts and acts that make up the common round of
experience. It bears the marks of whatever spiritual fellowship and
communion we keep with the Divine.

Professor Dewey tells us that character is largely dependent on the mode
of assembling its parts. A teacher may have a splendid native
inheritance, a fine education, and may move in the best social circles,
and yet not come to his best in personality. It requires some high and
exalted task in order to assemble the powers and organize them to their
full efficiency. The urge of a great work is needed to make potential
ability actual. Paul did not become the giant of his latter years until
he took upon himself the great task of carrying the gospel to the
Gentiles.

Our own responsibility.--It follows then that the building of our
personalities is largely in our own hands. True, the influence of
heredity is not to be overlooked. It is easier for some to develop
attractive, compelling qualities than for others. The raw material of
our nature comes with us; is what heredity decrees. But the finished
product bears the stamp of our training and development. Fate or destiny
never takes the reins from our hands. We are free to shape ourselves
largely as we will.

Our inner life will daily grow by what it feeds upon. This is the great
secret of personality-building. What to-day we build into thought and