Needing some encouragement today? This poem is from my devotional reading this morning. A lesson in Perseverance from Christopher Columbus concerning continuing on in the face of tremendous difficulties.
…weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
By Joaquin Miller
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: “Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?”
“Why, say, ‘Sail on! sail on! and on!’”“My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak.”
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
“What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?”
“Why, you shall say at break of day,
‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!’”
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
“This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word:
What shall we do when hope is gone?”
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
“Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!” Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck—
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: “On! sail on!”
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Linda C
GOOD MORNING,
I JUST READ SOME OF THE POSTINGS ON YOUR BLOG.
I FOUND OUT ABOUT YOUR BLOG ON THE WIFE OF THE COLONEL.
YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL BLOG AND I LOVE YOUR TUTORIAL ON THE STAMP…I HAVE ZERO KNOWLEDGE OF PHOTOSHOP BUT I AM GOING TO TRY AND DO THAT.
I LOVE THE BANNER ON YOUR BLOG. THAT IS VERY PRETTY.
BLESSINGS
debbie
Good message. Can’t ever give up… no matter what… keep pressing onward for the prize.