Rev. Mike Shiery
Pilgrim Bible Church
West Pine Street • Cedar Springs

“Blesssed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the untgodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.”

The story is told that J.M. Barrie, the distinguished author best remembered for giving us Peter Pan, once received a strange invitation to address a student body. That day the students were to be permitted to boo, hiss, and gernerally heckle any speaker they disliked. But he accepted the invitation. Standing before an audience whose obvious reslessness indicated a stormy time ahead, he began his speech with the words: “God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.” It caught the attention of the students and they listened quietly.

It may be that Mr. Barrie had in mind the December of old age. Certainly nothing is more beautiful than the chastened wisdom, the peaceful reveries and the grateful recollections of one whose face is turned toward life’s sunset. The memories of days gone is precious to those who have more sunsets behind them than before them. Memory is one gift of God that even death cannot destroy, and if we have invested in producing good memories we can cherish them and they can help sustain us even during difficlut times.

But December is not a matter of age or circumstance. Perhaps never before has there been so much loneliness, sorrow, and sin. All across the globe humanity is awash in a sea of despair. Yet there is peace in the midst of life’s storms. God’s Word offers His children “roses in December.” To delight in the law of the Lord and to meditate on it day and night; to think on whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely – this is the secret of peace and quietness, those roses in December.