THE little ducks in this picture are out taking their first swim. How small they look beside the large ones! They seem almost too small to keep themselves above the water. One little duckling is more timid than the rest, for it stays close to its mother’s side where it feels very safe. Probably if the old ducks were not nearby, the little ones would be afraid to go into such deep water, but now we can see some of them swimming alone very fearlessly. This little girl has come down to the water to see how the baby ducks are getting on with their first lesson. She has put her doll down beside her and has crept close to the edge of the landing to watch them.
Children are also very fearless when mother is near. With a hand in hers, they will go happily out into the darkest night Even when mother is not with us we must remember that we have a Friend, stronger than mother or father, who is ever watching over us and ready to keep us from all harm. He loves the little ones and it is well to ask His help whenever we feel afraid.
A great many children are much afraid to go alone into a dark place, even when it is a room in their own homes. This brings to mind something which happened many years ago. Several children of a large, family were playing together in the kitchen of their home when a loud noise from the next room frightened everyone but the smallest into silence. She was not yet four years old and seemed to be busy with her play. For a while they sat and trembled, each one afraid to go and see what had happened. Before they had said a word this little girl put down her playthings and bravely went off into the darkroom. There she picked up the basket of clothes pins and put them back on a chair from which they had fallen. This baby loved the Lord Jesus and seemed to be always sure of His Presence. She was sure that He was in the dark room, and so nothing could harm her. Before she was seven years old, the Lord took her to Himself, but she taught her brothers and sisters a lesson they never forgot. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers.” 1 Peter 3:1212For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (1 Peter 3:12).
ML 06/22/1902