It was a very cold, stormy afternoon. The wind was howling and the air was filled with snow. Little Fred Miller was nearly frozen, but he bravely ran from house to house with the evening paper. It was the first time he had done it alone, and he was determined that he would do it well. His mother had always been with him before, but she had fallen down the stairs, and her knee was badly swollen so that she was not able to walk.
Fred had almost finished. His hands were blue with the cold, and he could hardly fight his way against the strong wind, but he would not give up. A sudden gust of wind lifted the hat off the head of an old man and tossed it high in the air. Freddie ran after it and with some difficulty caught it, and brought it back to the old man. At last he had just one more paper to deliver. He was just about to turn in at the last house, when he noticed a lady stooping and gathering up the contents of her purse from the snowy street. Fred helped her till everything was picked up and then she thanked him and started away. Just then he noticed a little leather case still lying in the snow. Quickly he picked it up and ran after her. Just as he handed it to her, the wind caught his last paper and scattered it all over the street. With a wild scramble, he ran hither and thither till at last he had gathered all the sheets together, and then he tried to smooth and arrange them with his numb hands. Then he went to the door of the last house.
“Please, sir, I’m very sorry, but the paper got wet and crushed by the storm, but nothing is missing.”
But the old man grumbled, “They shouldn’t allow careless lads like you to deliver. I’m going to complain right now.”
Poor Fred. He had tried so hard, and now there would be a complaint and he would lose his job. Tears ran down his cheeks as he turned toward home. When he met his mother, she could see at once that he had been crying and she asked him about his trouble. He told her the whole story. “And, Mother,” he said, “the man said he was going to complain, so I shall probably lose my job.”
“We must tell the Lord about it,” she said.
Fred knelt down beside his mother, and in their own quiet way they each told the Lord Jesus about the trouble, for they were very poor and were badly in need of the little bit of money they earned by delivering those papers. How good it is to be able to tell all our troubles to the Lord Jesus. He loved us so very much that He died on the cross to wash our sins away, and He delights to have us bring all our sorrows and joys to Him in prayer. Both Fred and his mother were Christians, and it was their habit to tell the Lord Jesus all that was on their hearts.
The next day was New Year’s day. The storm was over, and the sun was shining brightly, and somehow Fred felt sure that the Lord would answer his prayer.
In the afternoon, there was a knock at the door, and when Mrs. Miller opened it, a strange gentleman asked, “Does Fred Miller live here?”
“Yes, sir. Please come right in and I’ll fetch him for you, but please, sir, he’s very sorry about those papers: He was really trying his best.”
“I don’t know anything about papers, but I have come to reward him, for he has done my wife a great favor.” Then he went on to tell her about the leather case that Fred had found, which contained a very valuable ring. He left a reward of $25.00 for Fred, and told him to come to his book shop the very next day to report for work.
With very grateful hearts, they both thanked the gentleman for his great kindness, and then when he had left, they knelt down and thanked the Lord for hearing their prayer.
I wonder if the reader of this story knows the joy of being able to kneel down and talk to the Lord Jesus about his problems. First of all, the Lord wants you to own that you are a lost sinner, and to accept Him as your own Saviour. He says, “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28).
ML 11/22/1959