It was the morning of the African Mail, and they expected a letter from their soldier brother, who had gone as a volunteer to the war. Twice they had heard of his company being in action, and in common with others who had loved ones facing death, they were anxious to hear of his welfare.
When the bundle of letters was handed to Maggie, she hurriedly glanced over them, and seeing her brother’s familiar handwriting on one of the envelopes, she shouted to her elder sister who had by this time left the house, and was running along the walk, “Hurray, a letter from Willie.”
With eager haste the envelope was burst open, and in a quiet corner of the garden, under the trees, the three girls sat down to read it Willie’s letter told of hardships on the battlefield, such as he had never expected to endure, and such scenes of carnage he had never expected to see, which made the girls weep. On the last page of Willie’s letter, he told of a young man, “a real good fellow,” who was mortally wounded at his side. As he fell with his life blood flowing, he sang;
“Jesus lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly.”
And with these words on his lips he died. That song from those dying lips had fixed itself on Willie’s heart. He went on to say, “I never heard anything so beautiful, could only weep. But thank God, I can now say as he could, that Jesus is my soul’s refuge, and that I am safe for time and Eternity in His keeping. I came to Africa for war, but in the goodness of God, He has given me peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. If He spares me to come home, I hope I may be able to tell to others what great things the Lord hath done for me.”
Willie’s letter caused great searching of heart in, at least, one of the three girls, that day; and for many days after. She was a giddy thoughtless girl, but God spoke to her through her brother’s letter, and before many weeks had come and gone, Lizzie came as a sinner to Christ, and He saved her.
How glad she was to write a long long letter to her soldier brother, telling him of her new-found joy, and assuring him, that when he returned to the old farmhouse, they would “praise the Lord for His wondrous love” in saving them both.
Reader, can you praise Him for saving you?
ML 06/13/1943