TRIXY does not like anyone to speak about it, and I do not wonder, for when the naughty things we have said and done are confessed and forgiven we do not want to be reminded of them.
That is not God’s way, and it is a great comfort to read what He has written in His book. He says, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more,” and in another place, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions.” Surely we can take a lesson from this and not hurt our little friends by bringing up actions that we know they are now sorry for and even ashamed of. But Trixy is willing that you should hear about this, so long as you do not mention it to her, and for this reason I am not going to tell you where she lives or anything else about her. Her home may be in America, it may be England, and it may be Japan, but this I will tell you, she does live somewhere.
Well, what is it all about, you ask? Some gooseberries were the cause of all the trouble. At the back of the house was a garden, and in the garden a few plum trees, gooseberry bushes, and shrubs of one kind and another were growing. One cold day Trixy was playing about in the garden with her coat on, and presently her sharp eyes chanced to fall upon some large, green gooseberries. Turing round to see if anybody were looking (she forgot that little verse, “Thou God seest me”), she filled her coat pockets with the unripe fruit.
Presently mother’s voice called, “Trixy, Trixy, I am going out for a walk, come and get tidy.”
The little girl went running indoors, forgetful for the moment of the gooseberries in her pockets. “Your coat wants brushing, dear,” said her mother, “come here,” and she lifted her on to a chair for the purpose. Trixy wished the gooseberries were on the bush instead of being in her pockets, but tried to look very surprised when mother said, “What have you got here, my child? Where did you get them, Trixy?” she asked, as she turned her pockets inside out.
But Trixy was now frightened at what she had done, and instead of confessing that she had picked them off the bush, she made matters worse by telling stories.
Mother looked very sad, and, as Trixy continued stubborn, father had to be told of her naughtiness. Taking the child by the hand, he said, “Now, come, show me where you got the gooseberries from.”
“I got them out of a hole in the ground,” sobbed the child, “I got them from there,” pointing to a place outside. Would it have been kind to say, “Oh, never mind, don’t take any more notice of it, she is only a little thing,” and then to laugh at the idea of gooseberries growing out of a hole in the ground?
That would have been the very worst thing to do, for then Trixy would think she had been clever, and might do the same thing or something worse the next day, and go on telling stories till she would not know when she was telling the truth. No, she had to be punished when she persisted in telling stories.
What a naughty girl to say, “I found them in a hole,” and then to insist, “I picked them off a plum tree,” and again, “They were growing on a quince tree,” but this is what she did day after day. But she gave in at last. Whether it was the punishments, or whether it was mother’s sad face, or whether she could not think of any more excuses, I could not say.
After some days the battle was won, the truth came at last from the little girl’s lips, and then Trixy was forgiven. It was wrong to have picked them at all, but how much easier it would have been to confess in the first place and then probably she would have been forgiven straight away.
As it was, all knew about it, even baby shook his head, and said, “Oh, Trixy, who is a socking girl.” Father was worried at her naughtiness when he had more than enough other worries; mother looked very sad, and Trixy herself was miserable. She did not ask the Lord Jesus to help her, that was the bottom of it all; had she done so, the gooseberries would have been left on the bush, and she would have played happily in the garden.
Now, we may not have stolen gooseberries like Trixy did and then deny it afterwards, but we have all done sins of one kind or another and need God’s forgiveness, and we read in His word that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)).
ML 08/20/1916