I WAS playing in the woods with other of my girl companions in the bright sunshine one summer day. Suddenly the sky became overcast, the rain came down in torrents, followed by a tremendous thunder storm, while the forked lightning flashed in terrific grandeur, lighting up the dark pine woods. We first sought the shelter of a wide-spreading tree, but it proved a poor refuge from the storm. Then we ran to a cave with an over-hanging rock. This we found to be a better shelter, and looking out we could see the fury of the storm as it raged above the valley.
One of the girls suggested that we might sing, and she led off with a familiar hymn:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From the riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save me from its guilt and power.
When the singing ceased, Mary said, “It is wonderful to be sheltered in Jesus from the wrath to come. I am glad that I fled to Him for refuge three months ago, and I know that I am safe.”
Some of the girls laughed, but I hung my head in shame. I knew that I was not saved, nor sheltered from the wrath of God. I think Mary saw that I was uneasy; at any rate, she looked at me and added solemnly, “Some of you know that you need a Saviour.” The rest of the time was spent in silence, but no doubt God spoke to our hearts during the half hour that we remained in our hiding place.
The storm passed. A beautiful rainbow spanned the valley, which was soon again lit up with the suer sunshine, and we walked along the river bank toward the village. Mary Rivers kept close by me, and spoke to me about Jesus. I was too great a coward to tell her in the presence of the other girls that I really wanted to be saved. But God made it easy for me by taking the rest of the girls away from us as we entered the village, thus leaving us together alone. Then I told Mary how I had prayed and tried to become a Christian, but it failed.
“That’s not the way at all, Marret,” said she. “Jesus has finished the work. You have nothing to do; only believe that Jesus died for you, and trust yourself to Him.”
That was something entirely new to me. I had been taught that if I was good, said my prayers night and morning, went to church, and kept from open sin, I might hope to get to heaven when I died. But to be saved now, and that without doing anything, only because of what Jesus did for me over 1900 years ago, was something I had never heard before. Yet that is the gospel, and I believed it; I was safe, and had found peace with God. Years have passed by and I have proved the power of God in my salvation ever since that summer’s day long ago.
ML-07/26/1964