I WANT to tell you, my readers, of a dear old woman who used to live in a country village in Kent. She was so happy, that any one might have wished to be like her, yet it was not the things around that made her so bright, for she had been ill in bed for many years, and was very old and feeble. She could not see the pretty country that was near her, nor even look out of the little attic window at the great elm trees on the other side of the road, nor at the blue sky above.
Below in the roads she could hear the voices of little children at play, but she never saw them. She had just to lie still on her bed, and the only thing that she saw before her from day to day was a large text do the wall, which contained these words: “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).)
You will think that Mrs. S. must have been very tired, lying there year after year, with nothing to do, and few people to go and visit her, but no! she was always happy, for she had that rest of which the text speaks. One day a lady called to see her, and asked if she knew anything of the Lord Jesus.
“O, yes, miss!” replied the old woman, with a smile; “He is my blessed Jesus, my Saviour!”
That was the secret of her happiness; Jesus had saved her, and she loved Him. “You have not known Him all your life; how was it He came to make you so happy?”
“Ah, miss, for years I used to feel the weight of my sins, and went often to hear the gospel; but one evening I was so sad and hopeless that I could do nothing but kneel and pray, feeling my sins a very load upon me. And it was then that my blessed Jesus seemed to be made known to me, and He took the burden from me, and gave me such beautiful brightness!”
By the “burden” you know she meant her sins; and it was well for her that she felt their weight, for, sad to say, there are those whose sins are still unforgiven, but who do not feel the weight of them at all. And so it was that with her load gone Mrs. S. rejoiced in the brightness of her Saviour’s love, and the one thought of her life seemed to be this: “My blessed Jesus.” She was never weary of speaking of Him, and her great desire was to be with Him in glory. “He is with me now,” she used to say, “He is always near me, my blessed Jesus!”
There were others who shared the same cottage with Mrs. S., and often they would be in her room and talk together of anything that was happening in the village. “But when they are talking,” the old woman said, “I just lie still and think of my Jesus, and am so happy!”
You see, dear readers, that to know the Lord Jesus in reality, as did this aged saint, is the only true happiness on earth, for it alone endures. All other joys and pleasures pass away, but the love of Christ is everlasting. He has said, “I am with you alway,” and Mrs. S. proved that promise to be true, for His presence sustained her life and last days till she fell asleep in Christ. She is now with the Lord, her “blessed Jesus,” who had given her “such beautiful brightness.”
Dear readers, as you look at the picture of the little cottage, and think of that aged Christian, ask yourself if you are as happy as she. The same Lord whose love had been shed abroad in her heart is ready to bless you too; and looking by faith to Him, you, also may lose your terrible load, and find the same “beautiful brightness.” G. A. A.