A_Living_Presence

A young mother set her foot on the path of life.

"Is the way long?" she asked. And the Guide said,

"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old

before you reach the end of it. But the end will be

better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would

not believe that anything could be better than these

years. So she played with her children, and gathered

flowers for them along the way. And the sun shone

on them, and life was good, and the young mother

cried, "Nothing will ever be lovlier than this!"

Then came night, and storm; and the path was dark,

and the children shook with fear and cold. But the

mother drew close to them and covered them with

her mantle, and the children said, "We are not afraid,

Mother, for you are near, and no harm can come to

us." And the mother said, "This is better than the

brightness of the day, for I have taught my children

courage."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead,

and the children climbed and grew weary, and the

mother was weary. But at last she said to the

children, "A little patience and we are there."

So the children climbed, and when they reached the

top, they said, "We could not have done this without

you, Mother." And that night the mother looked up

at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the

face of hardship. Yesterday I gave them courage;

to-day I gave them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth - clouds of war and hate and evil,

and the children groped and stumbled. The mother

said, "Look up; lift your eyes to the light." And the

children looked, and saw above the clouds an

Everlasting Light, and it guided them and brought

them beyond the darkness.

And that night the mother said, "This is the best day

of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months

and the years, and the mother grew aged and she was

little and bent. But the children were tall and strong

and walked with courage. And when the day was

hard, they lifted her over the rough places.

At last they came to a hill and beyond the hill they

could see a shining road and golden gates and they

flung wide. And the mother said, "I have reached

the end of my journey. And now I know that the end

is better than the beginning, for my children can

walk alone and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with

us, Mother." And they stood and watched her walk

through the golden gates, and the gates closed after

her. And they said, "We cannot now see our mother,

but she is with us still - she is a living presence."