December 14

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary. — Isa 50:4

Seldom can the heart be lonely,
If it seek a lonelier still;
Self-forgetting, seeking only
Emptier cups of love to fill.
— Frances R. Havergal.

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought.
And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored, and sorrows end.
— William Shakespeare.

Prayer

Gracious Father, keep me cheerful and courageous, that I may not be given to weary murmurings. May my hours of solitude be spent profitably as they pass. Grant that I may be a help to those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, and through the peace that is given to me help them to a tranquil life. Amen.