Florrie was a lonely little girl. All her brothers and sisters were grown up, her parents were getting old and she was left very much to herself. But worse than all, she was not sent to a Sunday school, so that she knew very little about the Lord Jesus, the Friend of little children. Still, she did long to know more, and when they sang at the day-school the hymn beginning,
“I think when I read that sweet story of old,” she meant with all her heart the lines.
“I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
That His arms had been thrown around me.”
And though she did not know how to pray, yet she always said, before going to sleep.
“O God, make me good.”
“I need Thee, O, I need Thee.”
“I am Thine, O Lord.”
One of her brothers had an organ, and when he was learning, he used to play over hymn tunes because he found them easy, and in this way Florrie came to know a number of hymns.
One day, while she was busy in the house, she felt a great longing to be a Christian, and the words of one of the hymns she knew came to her mind,
“I need Thee, O, I need Thee.”
She sang it through, and after that another hymn,
“I am Thine, O Lord.”
The words of these hymns spoke to her and she felt that somehow, she did belong to the Lord Jesus, but she still did not feel any better—indeed, she knew that she was very wicked.
On one occasion Florrie went for a ride with a friend in the country. They found a beautiful spot under some trees for a rest. There was no sound except the sinng of birds; and the beauty and peace all around made Florrie feel that God was near. But it made her exclaim:
“This makes me think of my sins,” to the surprise and amusement of her friend.
You see, she did not know what it is to have “peace with God,” and though this experience made her decide to attend church, she did not find the Saviour she needed, for she could not understand the service or even join in the singing.
Soon after this she visited some new friends, and it was through them that God answered the desires of her heart, as you shall hear.
Not long after, a special mission was held in a hall, and her friends asked Florrie to go with them to the service, When the service was over a lady asked Florrie if she knew the Lord Jesus as her Saviour.
“No,” said Florrie.
“Wouldn’t you like to?” asked the lady. Florrie, of course, said,
“Yes,” and the lady opened her Bible and read,
“Do you believe that?” she asked. Florrie said that she did.
“Well, you are saved,” said the lady. “No, I am not,” answered Florrie, “I have always believed that.”
“Then let us read the verse again,” and this time the lady read:
“For God so loved Florrie, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if Florrie believed on Him, she should not perish but have everlasting life. Do you believe that?”
“Yes,” said Florrie.
“Then you are saved,”
But Florrie could not believe that she was saved, so, after showing her other texts, the lady knelt down and asked the Lord to show Florrie that she “that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
Florrie went to every service after that, and a few weeks later she realized that “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” At another time the text preached from was,
“Lord, Lord, open unto us.”
Florrie went home, and for the first time in her life her mother saw her kneel down. Silently, in her heart, she said,
“Lord, open to me,” and from that moment she knew that the Lord Jesus, really had died on the cross of Calvary for her sins, and that those sins which had troubled her for so long were now gone.
If some kind little friend, had said to her:
“Will you come to Sunday school with me?” she might have been happy and at peace long before.
So if you know any little girls or boys who do not go to Sunday school, invite them to come with you. They may be too shy to go alone, as Florrie was.
Come to the Lord Jesus yourself, and then try to bring others to Him, remeering the words,
ML 05/24/1942