Marmee-isms ~#12~ Marmee Knows Her Girls

Now, if she had been the heroine of a moral story-book, she ought at this period of her life to have become quite saintly, renounced the world, & gone about doing good in a mortified bonnet, with tracts in her pocket. But, you see, Jo wasn't a heroine; she was only a struggling human girl, like hundreds of others, & she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic, as the mood suggested . . . Jo had got so far, she was learning to do her duty, & to feel unhappy if she did not; but to do it cheerfully ~~ ah, that was another thing! She had wanted to do something splendid, no matter how hard . . .

Providence had taken her at her word; here was the task, not what she had expected, but better, because self had no part in it: now, could she do it? She decided she would try; &, in her 1st attempt, she found the helps I have suggested. Still another was given her, & she took it, not as a reward, but as a comfort, as Christian took the refreshment afforded by the little arbor where he rested, as he climbed the hill called Difficulty.

"Why don't you write? That always used to make you happy," said her Marmee, once, when the desponding fit overshadowed Jo . . . "write something for us, & never mind the rest of the world. Try it, dear; I'm sure it would do you good, & please us very much" . . .

An hour afterward her Marmee peeped in, & there she was, scratching away, w/her black pinafore on, & an absorbed expression, which caused Mrs. March to smile, & slip away, well pleased w/the success of her suggestion. Jo never knew how it happened, but something got into that story that went straight to the hearts of those who read it; for, when her family had laughed & cried over it, her father sent it, much against her will, to one of the popular magazines, &, to her utter surprise . . . Letters from several persons, whose praise was honor, followed the appearance of the little story, newspapers copied it, & strangers as well as friends admired it . . .

"I don't understand it. What can there be in a simple little story like that, to make people praise it so?" she said, quite bewildered.

"There is truth in it, Jo, that's the secret . . . You wrote w/no thought of fame or money, & put your heart into it, my daughter; you have had the bitter, now comes the sweet. Do your best, & grow as happy as we are in your success."

Little Women ~ Ch. 42

"The longings of your heart are not incidental, they are critical messages. The desires of your heart are not to be ignored, they are to be consulted. As the wind turns the weather vane, so God uses your passions to turn your life. God is too gracious to ask you to do something you hate." ~Max Lucado~Just Like Jesus.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><