Climbing the Mountain page 11 Reminiscences of Margaret Wuerflein Klammer (1891-1985) Written in 1976, her 85th year Go to Beginning Go to Ending Return to Home page

and so I chose it for my wedding long ago. It was a day full of hope and dreams for the future. The Bible says: "Hope maketh not ashamed," and as long as there is hope life will go on. With dreams it is not so. Sometimes they fade and die and some dreams turn into nightmares, but the morning comes and with it the sun- shine and all is right with the world. Man goeth forth to work and blesses his soul that the Lord has given another day to climb upward on the mountain. We have taken a wide detour. Coming back we see a new sign that says: "Follow Me. I am the Way and will lead you in the right path." We are getting higher and the going is getting harder. The old bones get weary and would rather sit and rest more and more often. We are getting closer to the top of the mountain and are getting more lonely. The children we raised and hoped would lighten our old age have left us to seek their own fortune. Our prayers follow them wherever they go: Lord, watch over them and keep them in Your way so that they, too, will reach that high mountain top to be reunited with us in eternity. If one or another has gone astray, dear Shepherd of Your sheep, seek them and bring them back in the right way. Thou only canst save." We have been privileged to live here 45 years now, more than half of our lifetime, and no doubt, we will be buried here on the holy hill of St. Lorenz. It is indeed wonderful how God leads His children. Many presidents have ruled this country in my day, some better than others. Teddy Roosevelt was in office when I came to this country. He was known as the man with the big stick. This country was founded under God by the long ago signers of the Declaration of Independence, but now evil men and women are trying to remove the name of God from our govern- ment. God shall laugh in His heaven! Oh, I remember so much during the sleepless nights here in this house which I call jail because of its many restrictions and laws. In these frantic and confused times it is so pleasant to remember the days of old. How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood: In our woods there were blueberry patches, also raspberries and strawberries, all wild, and we children would go out with our buckets and pick what was in season. Some- times mean boys would step in and mash up the patch out of spite, but it didn't happen often. I must rest here a while, the climbing is getting harder. The eyes are getting dim and the ears dull, the hands shaky and the head heavy. I guess I am getting into too many byways. The Lord has been so good to me and when sometimes life gets rough and I want to scream and grumble and complain, I get to thinking how much I have to be thankful for and how wrong it is to offend God Who does so very much for us. Even on to our old age and hoary hair He never left us nor forsook us. "Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits."