Crash! Boom! Boom!
“Josephine! What was that?” Joanne exclaimed.
“I—I— don’t know,” was the answer as the two clutched each other, listening.
Joanne and Josephine stood in the nursery, where pictures of water, sky, horses, ships and other interesting things had been painted upon the panels. No other sound came to them, and with a rush they ran to the window.
“The oak tree! Look, sister,” said. Joanne.
“It has fallen across the driveway!”
“But it has always stood so high and pretty,” wailed Joanne. “What made it fall down and be dead?”
Josephine, though older than Joanne, could not answer. Sadly they looked at the tree, hardly believing their eyes, until Josephine shouted:
“Papa and Mamma! Joanne, they won’t be home until dark. Maybe they won’t see the tree and run into it with the automobile!”
Joanne looked startled at such a thought. Again the two clutched each other.
“We can’t telephone to Grandma,” began Josephine,” “cause Mamma said the line was out of order.”
What should they do? They felt so little and helpless. Then Joanne said eagerly: “I’ll just telephone to Jesus.” She walked over to her little play telephone and took down the receiver. “Jesus, this is Joanne calling,” she said in her best grown-up voice, “The big tree—” her voice choked for she had so loved that big tree—”the tree’s right across the road. Please, Lord Jesus, don’t let Papa and Mamma bump into it and get hurted,” she hung up the receiver and placed the telephone on the table,
“Jesus will take care of them,” she said sturdily to Josephine.
Tears came into her sister’s eyes. Little, Joanne had been so happy to learn of Jesus at Sunday school and often talked to Him on her telephone. Now Josephine wondered how He could help them. Mamma had said that afternoon:
“Josephine, you and Joanne must stay at home, because there are some sick folks where we must go. It is Katie’s day off but I must go with Papa. We won’t get back until a little after dark. You just stay here in the nursery and light your lamp when you need it. I can trust you to take good care of sister?”
She had promised, but how could Mamma know that the big tree would fall? O, what should she do now?”
“Don’t cry, Josephine,” said Joanne patting her sister’s cheek. “Jesus will take care of Papa and Mamma.”
They went to the window and pressed, their noses against the glass. Soon it would be dark.
“Look! There is a car coming. Goody, maybe it is Papa and Mamma,” almost shouted Joanne.
“It’s Grandpa and Grandma,” declared Josephine. “I’ll run down and open the door. You stay here.” Gayly she ran down the stairs and soon was in Grandma Holt’s arms.
“Grandma, the tree just fell down—boom, like that—and we’ve been so scared that Papa. and Mamma would be hurrying to get to us and might run into it. What’ll we do?”
“Grandpa left our car down by the gate, dear. He said he would put a sign down there as a warning. Aren’t Papa art Mamma here?”
By this time they had walked up to the nursery where. Joanne was gathered up into Grandma’s arms.
“I telephoned to Jesus. I guess He couldn’t come and sent you,” she said happily.
“What’s this? You did what?”
“Our telephone is out of order, so Joanne telephoned Jesus on her little telephone,” said Josephine.
Grandmother sat down in the big chair and the children climbed on her knees and began: “You know, children, the Lord Jesus does not come Himself, but he uses others to answer payers. I was very busy this afternoon when a little voice inside of me said, ‘Why don’t you go over to see Joanne and Josephine!’ That was the Lord Jesus that put that thought in my head.”
“Did you want to come, Grandma?”
“It seemed hard for me to get away, but that little voice would not be quiet, so I came, just when my two little girls needed me most.”
“But if Joanne had not called Jesus, you might not have come?”
Grandma smiled at her. “Don’t forget, when the Lord lays on your heart to do something, let us do it willingly. Above all, when He knocks at your little heart and wants to come in, don’t let that voice go unheeded, but open wide the door, He says in His precious Word:
‘ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.’” Rev. 3:2020Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20).
Dear reader, have you let Him come into your heart?
ML 04/14/1940