never be such a woman. I can never do the duties of a Christian in such
n perfect way." No, never in your own strength. If no help came from
God, if there were set for us all the lofty ideals of the Scriptures,
and we were then left alone to work them out as best we could, unhelped,
we might well despair. But, for every duty and requirement there is a
promise of divine grace.

Ruskin says: "He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for
what he wants us to do. If we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves,
it is our own fault." This puts tersely, and in strong, homely phrase,
the essence of such promises of the Scriptures as "My grace is
sufficient for thee;" "As thy days so shall thy strength be," and many
others, "Strength enough and sense enough." The latter is a fresh
reading of the old assurance. We often say we shall get strength enough,
but we do not always remember that we shall get sense enough for every
duty, every perplexity, every place where great delicacy of wisdom is
required. Yet there is a promise to any one who knows that he lacks
wisdom and will ask for it.

So the young girl need not be afraid to step out into life, if she have
Christ with her. He will show her the way. He will make her strong for
duty. He will be in her, and will help her to grow into radiant beauty
of life. He will give her wisdom for every place where wisdom is
required. As you bow at his feet, Christ looks into your face with love
and yearning, eager to grant you a new blessing. Ask him for what you
want most, and will it not be for the blessing of simple goodness, the
love of Christ to fill your heart and pour out through all your life? No
other gift can be such a benediction to you; no other can make you such
a benediction to others.