Young People--and Independence August 3, 1952
There are periods perhaps in the lives of most young people when they are impatient with counsel and precautions, when they wonder why they have to be responsible to parents, why they cannot have...
When a Mouse Falls Into a Meal Sack… August 17, 1952
There is an old Dutch proverb that reads, “When a mouse falls into a meal sack, he thinks he is the miller himself.”which suggests something of the sincere humility that all of us should...
What "Everyone" Is Doing May 25, 1952
One of the persistent practices of children and of others also is to justify what they want to do by saying that “everyone” is doing it. Parents are familiar with these phrases:...
Waiting in the Wings June 8, 1952
It sometimes seems that we are waiting for some better time to begin, for some tranquil time that doesn’t come, for some starting point that is superior to the present; and we often hesitate...
The Worst That Could Happen September 28, 1952
The Triumph of Principles July 20, 1952
The Question of Everlasting Life April 13, 1952
Constantly there comes before us the question of death, the question of the loss of those we love, the question of the reality of the resurrection and of everlasting life⎯and many other problems...
The Problem of Disciplining People… December 7, 1952
There is an always urgent field for thought in the problem of disciplining people. Parents, and others, frequently find themselves searching and praying and pleading for wisdom and guidance in the...
The Long Look October 5, 1952
There seems to be little evidence that the Creator of the universe was ever in a hurry. Everywhere, on this bounteous and beautiful earth, and to the farthest reaches of the firmament, there is...
The Importance of Principles September 7, 1952
The Closing of the Calendar December 28, 1952
So soon the cycle has once more swiftly turned itself, and suddenly we come again to the closing of the calendar. It seems only a few short weeks since we were watching another calendar close, since...
The Agony of Indecision November 16, 1952
As we look back upon the plight of Hamlet with all his troubles and sorrows, one of the things for which he was much to be pitied was his agony of indecision his hanging between “to be or not...
That My Child May Have Peace January 13, 1952
There is an impressive plea by Thomas Paine expressed in this sentence in 1776: “If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” Perhaps we could be...
Telling the Truth November 9, 1952
There is a sentence from one of the writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge that suggests a deeply significant subject: “Veracity,” he said, “does not consist in saying, but in the...
Surviving the First Shock… December 14, 1952
In any loss or injury or illness or accident, the first sharpness of pain, the first fear, the first disappointment, the first sense of sorrow, may seem almost unbearable. But mercifully, in the...
Suppose We Lost Everything… November 23, 1952
It has sometimes been suggested that to make us fully thankful, everything we have should be taken from us, and then one time, each cherished and essential thing should be given back to us again. It...
Sins of Omission July 6, 1952
Sometimes we hear someone defensively say, “I haven’t done anything”⎯which suggests a subject: Innocence isn’t always merely a matter of not doing anything. The privilege of...
Prescriptions… for Our Friends March 30, 1952
There are many important principles on which most of us can agree. There are many standards of conduct that most of us feel others should observe. But the point where we often part company is in...
People--in a Personal Way June 22, 1952
We are sometimes disposed to look upon people and their problems impersonally. In a world of so many millions of men, other people—that is other than ourselves—tend to become population per square...
Part-Way People March 9, 1952
If we were to make an inventory of the things that people start and prematurely stop, it would no doubt add up to an appallingly long list. There are so many once-promising projects that have been...