THE summer sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing sweetly, and everything seemed speaking of God’s care, as two little girls trod lightly the well-known road to their Sunday School. A pretty picture they made, in their cool print dresses, with such sweet, happy little faces and dark curling hair. They had not far to go, so the school door was soon reached, and the children seated in their classes.
Nellie, the youngest, was very fond of her teacher, and listened eagerly to every word that was said. The lesson was about answers to prayer.
“Dear children,” the teacher said, “God wants His little ones to come to Him, with all their little troubles and trials. He will not send any one of you away, no not one of you, and not any of your troubles are too small for Jesus. Do you want anything? Just go to Jesus in the same way as you would go to your mother. If you were hungry, and said, ‘Mother, please may I have some bread and butter,’ perhaps she might say, ‘in a few minutes we shall be having tea, so you must wait a while, darling: but she would give you what you wanted in due time. Now, God sometimes, as it were, says to His dear children, ‘You must wait a little while, it is better for you.’ But He always answers prayer, and does it in the very best way.” As little Nellie’s large dark eyes were fixed upon her teacher, in simple faith, she believed God, and she felt that Jesus was her loving Friend.
A few weeks glided by, bright, happy weeks to the sweet trusting child, and then she was suddenly called to the death bed of her loving mother. Poor mother! she gazed very sadly at her dear little ones, so soon to be motherless.
“Good-bye, my own darlings, I am going to God,” she said, and then she prayed: “O God, take care of my children when I am gone.”
After that, she turned to the weeping children, and said to them:
“Take care of your father, my darlings, when I am gone. Always have the house tidy, and his meals ready, when he returns from work.”
“Yes, dearest mother,” sobbed the children; “but O! do stay with us. What shall we do without you?”
“God will be a Father to you, and a mother also,” she said. Poor thing! too well she knew their earthly father was fast losing all love for home through drink.
In less than a week after this, two little figures, clad in black, with a tall man, bowed down with grief, followed all that remained of the dear wife and mother to its last resting place in the quiet country churchyard, and then they went back to their lonely home.
The children tried hard to fill their mother’s place. The poor little things did miss her so deeply! Perhaps Julia felt it most, for she was the eldest. Nellie was only eight years old, and she would go to Jesus, and there pour out her grief and sorrow, “for He loves to hear me pray,” said the child.
The bright summer days had passed; chill winter was creeping on. The father was rarely at home. Most of his time was spent at the “Crown” inn, and his money too, yet he always expected his tea at night, while the poor children might go hungry to bed.
At last there came a day when the cupboard was empty, and the children had no means to fill it again.
“How shall we get father some tea?” asked Julia.
“Let us go to Aunt Fanny,” Nellie replied. So away they trotted up the street.
“Poor little things!” the neighbors said, and shook their heads as they passed. But Nellie did not feel floor for she was thinking of Jesus.
“Aunt Fanny, we have nothing to eat,” were the words that wrung the heart of their poor, but kind-hearted aunt. It was often as much as she could do to find food and clothing for her own little ones—she would go without herself that they might have enough—and the tears filled her eyes as she listened to the children. Then Nellie said, “Don’t you think if we asked God, He would send something for us?”
“I daresay He would, dear,” the aunt said, but to her, God seemed a very long way off, though her little niece’s words recalled other days—happy days when she had prayed to the Saviour—but that was long ago. So they all knelt down, and little Nellie began to pray:
“O God our Father, we are all so hungry, and the cupboard is empty, and there is nothing for father’s tea; please send us something before he comes home, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” Then, one by one, the others prayed also, sobbing and crying between the words. But the Heavenly Father looked down tenderly upon them; He heard and answered their prayers, as you will see.
They all arose, and the aunt kissed the children, drying her eyes, as she did so, and, with the words, “God bless you,” they returned to their lonely home; yet they did not feel alone, for Jesus was with them.
In a house near the cottage, that afternoon, all was warm and bright, and there was plenty there. In her beautiful room a lady sat thinking, or, was it God who was speaking to her? She arose and dressed for a walk. Then, going to the kitchen, she returned with a basket laden with good things, and walked down the street. This lady was not in the habit of taking things to the poor, and we cannot explain how it was she thought of these little children; but she went to the house where they were, for God had sent her to answer Nellie’s prayer.
Was little Nellie surprised to see a well filled table that night, do you think? Ah, no! She knew God would, answer prayer.
Several years have passed since this occurred. I will only add that Nellie is now a young woman. She is very much loved, and is still marked by her simple faith and trust in God. The dying mother’s prayer is answered: God has been to her both Father and mother.
ML 09/22/1918