“Study to be quiet” (1 Thess. 4:11).
“When the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matt. 14:23).
Souls sing their finest songs and utter their sublimest truths under difficulties, frustration, and trials. This was certainly the case with Mrs. Phoebe Brown, a mother of four small children, who was anxious to find a place where she could get alone with God. She found that by walking in the twilight in the countryside near her house, she could pray undisturbed. One unfrequented lane especially suited her, with elms planted on either side and which led to the beautiful garden of a wealthy neighbor. Here she enjoyed uninterrupted communion with her heavenly Father until the owner of the garden noticed her rambles and her condescending manner made Mrs. Brown feel that she must abandon them.
“I had four small children, a small unfinished house,” she tells us, “a sick sister in the only furnished room; and there was not a place above or below where I could go as in former days. I have often thought Satan had tried his best to prevent me from prayer, by depriving me of a place in which to pray.”
But Mrs. Brown found an outlet for her frustration. Putting the older children to bed, she sat down in the kitchen with the baby in her arms. Taking out her pen and paper, she gave vent to her oppressed heart in the following poem:
My Apology For My Twilight Rambles
“I love to steal awhile away
From little ones and care,
And spend the hours of setting day
In gratitude and prayer.
“I love to feed on Nature’s scenes
When falls the evening dew,
And dwell upon the silent themes,
Forever rich and new.
“I love this silent twilight hour
Far better than the rest;
It is of all the twenty-four
The happiest and best.
“Thus, when life’s toilsome day is o’er,
May its departing ray
Be calm as this impressive hour,
And lead to endless day.”