February 17
If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more starry, more immortal,—that is your success. All nature is your congratulation and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself.
Henry David Thoreau.
Father, I have found Thy gift of life, a sweet and beautiful thing. It has known cloud and rain, but these have nourished it, and the darkness has sheltered it. It has felt driving storms, but these have strengthened it. It has known sunshine too. And now every day is a transfiguration and every night a benediction. Let thanksgiving be my prayer. What I need Thou wilt give. My hands Thou wilt touch with the soft petals of Thy flowers; and the arms of Thy strong care shall be about me. By the voices of brooks and rivers and winds and birds and little children Thou wilt speak to me, and in the deeper silences I shall hear Thy still small voice. Father, I thank Thee. Amen.
February 18
Let us not care too much for what happens: Let us not leave our peace of mind at the mercy of events.
Charles G. Ames.
Let us lay hold of the happiness of today. Do we not go through life blindly, thinking that some fair tomorrow will bring us the gift we miss today?... Know thou, my heart, if thou art not happy today, thou shalt never be happy.
Anna Robertson Brown.