March 8

That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in godliness and gravity. — 1 Tim 2:2

O boundless self-contentment voiced
In flying air-born bubbles!
O joy that mocks our sad unrest,
And frowns our earth-born troubles!

The life that floods the happy fields
With song and light and color,
Will shape our lives to richer states
And heap our measures fuller.
— C.P. Cranch.

One may secure and preserve that repose in the turbulence of a great city—as Shakespeare surely found and preserved it in the London of the sixteenth century. For repose does not depend on external conditions; it depends on sound adjustment to tasks, opportunities, pleasures, and the general order of life.
— Hamilton Mabie.

Prayer

Gracious Father, help me to understand that peace cannot abide in misery, nor can it stay with every mood. May I be able to overcome the depression that may keep me in sadness and isolation, and have delight in the gladness of friends, and live in the peace of strong resolutions. Amen.