A PRAYING, Christian mother had had the great sorrow of parting with three of her loved children, and now another, her first born, was lying very ill. It appeared as if death must claim her, too, there seeming to be no human hope.
The sorrowing mother felt that she must give this dear child up, but the thought of it almost broke her heart. In her anguish she said, “O, Lord, you are going to take Florence, but I cannot say, Thy will be done; I feel that I cannot give her up.”
For three days this dear, Christian mother knelt, many times a day, by the side of her much-loved child; and thus she prayed, “Lord, I think you are going to take Florence; give me grace to say, Thy will be done; I cannot say it.”
How her heart was rent! But still this petition went up. She wished to say, “Thy will be done,” but she felt that as yet, she could not.
At the close of the third day, while thus speaking to the Lord, a great burden seemed lifted; she rose, and with hands uplifted to heaven cried out, “Lord, thy will be done; take her if you will.”
The burden was gone; the load was lifted; light and peace filled her heart. Now her will was the will of the Lord, and she could say from the heart, “Thy will be done.”
For a few days the child continued to fail. One night she grew stiff and they thought she was dying. The father ran for the doctor who was soon on the scene. The dear mother was kept in perfect peace through this trying ordeal, while the father, who had not been able to leave all with the Lord, was nearly frantic with grief at the thought of giving up his beloved child.
The doctor rubbed the little sufferer, and worked over her for a time; before long, he quietly said, “The child will live.” From that hour she began to mend, greatly to the joy of her parents.
For the mother, there was double joy; and from that time, no matter what the sorrow or the trial that came, she was able, from her heart to say, “Thy will be done.”
May we all, younger and older, learn a precious lesson from this. May we be able ever to say, “Thy will be done”!
ML 09/21/1902