WHEN I was a little girl I lived in a large old farmhouse in the country. In front of it were four very large old trees, and some soft grass. Under these trees my little brother and sisters passed many hours in merry play. But I was not a happy child—a continual burden seemed to rest on my young mind; all was not right between my soul and God. I thought sometimes of my sins, but oftener of that peace of mind, which I knew I had not, and which I wished so much, to obtain. I had a pious mother, and one of my earliest recollections is of sitting by her side in a high chair, while she would read to me chapter after chapter of God’s holy Book. She often warned me of the danger of neglecting my soul’s salvation, but she could not tell me clearly the way of safety through Christ, for she did not then rejoice in the value of His finished work, as she did afterward. Often I resolved to become a child of God by beginning to read my Bible, and having stated times for prayer, and then, I used to think, surely I shall have entered on the narrow path that leadeth unto life eternal. So I would begin, and go on perhaps for a day or two, or a week, and once I think I persevered a month or more, and then it seemed all to come to nothing, and I was as unhappy as before.
I think I should have been brought earlier to know the Saviour, whom now I love, had anyone been near to take my little hand, and kindly say, “Dear Mary, you cannot become a child of God by your prayers and reading the Bible, but through faith in Christ Jesus. God has so loved you, a poor sinful little girl, that He has given His own well-beloved Son to die a shameful death or the cross, that you might be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for on Him God has made to meet the iniquities of us all.” I was often cross and unkind to my brother and sisters, and did many things which, if I had been following the meek and lowly Lamb of God, I should not have done.
I will tell you now how God saved me. It when I was nineteen years of age. The Lord had sent into our village a faithful minister of His truth. I began to see I was a sinner, and then my soul asked the deeply important question, “Who is Jesus?” The Spirit of God answered, “He is the Saviour of sinners.” Then He is the Saviour and I am the sinner, He is just the One I need. I will trust in Him to save me, for I cannot save myself.
A great change came over my conduct, and the pastor’s wife, calling me to her house, lovingly said, “Mary, we see a great change in you, we should like to know the cause.” I replied, “I am trusting in Christ.” But when she proposed to me to join the church, I was quite astonished, for I thought I still had something to do before I could become a Christian. Soon after this, I saw plainly that the moment I trusted Christ, I became a child of God.
Since then I have known real happiness, and though, dear children, many years have passed away, I can truly say, I am happier now than when I first believed. That you may know Christ while you are young; is the earnest desire of your affectionate friend who has written these few lines. M. E. T.