Speak a shade more kindly than the year before
Pray a little oftener; love a little more;
Cling a little closer to the Father’s love;
Thus life below shall liker grow to life above
The years ought to be ascending steps in the ladder of life. We should always be going upward. Heaven is high – a place of perfect beauty and holiness. When we begin to live truly we begin to climb toward heaven. It looks far away, so far that it seems to us we never can reach it. But we are sure that we can. We are not let to struggle up unhelped. There always are angels on the ladder, going up and coming down – going up on our behalf, to tell of our faith and our struggles, and then coming down to bring us help out of heaven. We need not doubt, therefore, that heaven is really within our reach and that through the help of God we shall some day enter its doors if only we continue faithful. But the way is not easy. It is a mountain climb. It is never easy to go up a steep mountain. This mountain is very high. No matter how long we have been on the way, nor how far we have gone, heaven still keeps far above us. The saintliest people we know tell us that they have not yet attained, but are still pressing on toward the goal. A ladder does not suggest rapid going up, but it does suggest patient, continuous ascending. True living is always progressive. The experiences are variable, but persistent faith and courage ever conquer circumstances, and make the hardest conditions yield contentment and hope, so that the feet are ever climbing higher.
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