  Little WorriesThere is not a day in our lives that we are not distressed by some one of those numberless little worries that meet us at every step, and which are inevitable. The wound made may not be deep; but the constant pricks, each day [pg 058] Life is full of these little miseries. Each hour brings with it its own trouble. Here are some of the little worries: An impatient word escapes our lips in the presence of some one in whose estimation we would stand well. A servant does his work badly, fidgets us by his slowness, irritates us by his thoughtlessness, and his awkward blunders make us blush. A giddy child in its clumsiness breaks something of value, or that we treasure on account of its associations; we are charged with a message of importance, and our forgetfulness makes us appear uncourteous, perhaps ungrateful; some one we live with is constantly finding fault, nothing pleases [pg 059] How to Bear Little WorriesIn the first place, expect them. Make them the subject of our morning prayers, and say to ourselves, Here is my daily cross, do I accept willingly? Surely! for it is God Who sends it. After all ... these little troubles, looked at calmly, what are they? Ah, if there were never any worse! Secondly, we must be prepared for them. You know, if you wish to break the force of a blow falling on you, you naturally bend the body; so let us act with regard to our souls. Accustom yourself, wrote a pious [pg 060] To bend is better than to bear; to bear is often a little hard; to bend implies a certain external sweetness that yields all constraint, sacrificing the wishes, even in holy things, when they tend to cause disagreements in the family circle. Submission often implies an entire resignation to all that God permits. The soul that endures feels the weight of its trouble. The soul that yields scarcely perceives it. Blessed are those docile ones; they are those whom God selects to work for Him. |
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