A MERRY child was little Katie. There was not a girl in the school who had such a merry laugh, or was so full of fun. She was a general favorite, too, for she had such winning ways, yet she cost her widowed mother many an anxious thought. Katie’s mother was an earnest Christian, not one of those mothers who profess to be Christians, and yet never seek to lead their little ones to Jesus; no, it was her one great desire, her most fervent prayer, that her little Katie might early learn to know the Saviour. Many were the quiet talks between mother and child, but they usually ended by Katie saying,
“I’ll be a Christian when I grow up, mother; that will be quite time enough.”
So months went on until Katie was nearly twelve years old, and still the mother’s prayers for her were unanswered.
One bright summer’s day it was arranged that Katie, with one of her schoolfellows, should go for a long ramble in the woods, and, as the evenings were warm and light, they took a lunch with them, that they need not hurry home. They had a very pleasant time together, and were thinking it would soon be time to turn homewards, when a distant peal of thunder startled them greatly; they had been so busy picking flowers in the woods, and weaving them into garlands, they had not noticed the heavy clouds that had been gathering for some time, and now they found that it would be impossible for them to reach their homes, or indeed, any place of shelter, before the storm came on, for they were far from the nearest cottage.
They hurried out of the woods, but they had some distance to go to reach the road. The rain came down, the thunder pealed loudly, and the lightning was so vivid that it filled them with terror. As they neared the road, Katie begged her companion to stay beneath a large, thick tree till the storm would be over, saying that it would shelter them so nicely; but Mary insisted on their leaving the shelter as quickly as possible, saying that her father had told her it was very dangerous to go under a tree in a storm. Katie was very desirous to linger, but Mary had at length to take her hand, and almost drag her to the road. They had only just reached it when, hearing a loud crash, and turning back, they saw that a flash of lightning had struck the tree, and shivered its enormous trunk.
The children were awestruck, to think how nearly they had lost their lives, for had they stayed two minutes longer they would have been killed. In spite of the drenching rain they stood still, with pale faces looking at the place where the grand old tree had stood, then they started on their way home again in terror, lest they themselves should be struck before getting there. But they were preserved, and an impression was made on the mind of each which lasted through lifetime.
Katie did not soon recover the shock, and having taken a severe cold from the wetting, she was obliged to keep her bed for some days. One evening, after lying still for some time, she said.
“O, mother, what would have become of me if I had stayed under that tree? It would have served me right if God had killed me then for saying I would not be a Christian till I grew up.”
“I think you learned a lesson that night, Katie,” said her mother. “Do you really desire to be a Christian now?”
“Yes, mother, if Jesus will have me after keeping Him waiting so long,” was Katie’s answer.
“Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out,” answered her mother.
“Then I will come. Mother, how shall I come?” said Katie.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” replied her mother.
“But I do believe on Him,” said Katie, “I have believed on Him all my life.”
“Ah, but not in your heart, or in such a way as to make you love Him.”
Then she showed her Katie that the Lord Jesus died to cleanse away our sins with His own blood. God gave Katie to understand, and to believe the love of Jesus, and to trust in Him. She felt her load of sins, and repented of them, and came to Jesus.
ML 01/20/1924