Little Women

I picked up an old novel again yesterday evening, and found great sweetness:

I gave my best to the country I love, and kept my tears till he was gone. Why should I complain when we both have merely done our duty and will surely be the happier for it in the end? If I don't seem to need help, it is because I have a better Friend even than Father to comfort and sustain me. My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother." 

Jo's only answer was to hold her mother close, and in the silence which followed, the sincerest prayer she had ever prayed left her heart without words, for in that sad yet happy hour she had learned not only the bitterness of remorse and despair, but the sweetness of self-denial and self-control; and, led by her mother's hand, she had drawn nearer to the Friend who welcomes every child with a love stronger than that of any father, tenderer than that of any mother.

- Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, pages 67-68

I started to highlight segments of this text above but then realized I would be italicizing almost everything.

photo: Joy's yarn - December 27, 2010

Little Women

I picked up Little Women and started reading it these past few days. It's so delightful! And I want to use words like "delightful," "handkerchief," "dear," and so on because of it. I think there is something to be said for rubbing shoulders with people who help you enjoy and be thankful for the little things in life and throughout the day. That is the effect this book has for me so far. Alcott portrays the daily joys and sorrows of her characters with genuineness and care. It has been a very long time since I've read a novel, but that's mostly because I haven't seen a use for doing so. I look forward to walking through a bit of life with Little Women and letting them teach me to embrace and cultivate a thankful, contented, and joyful spirit in the moments of my days.
A plus is the fact that the copy I have is worn and aged, which adds a lovely quaintness to the reading experience. My grandma's name, Rhoda, is written in cursive with a pencil on the title page.

photo: Jared & Rebekah's wedding, January 2010