A merry child was little Katie. There was not a girl in the school who had such a merry laugh, or was so full of fun. She was a general favorite, too, for she had such winning ways, yet she cost her widowed mother many an anxious thought. Katie’s mother was an earnest Christian, and it was her one great desire, her most fervent prayer, that her little Katie might early learn to know the Saviour. Many were the quiet talks between mother and child, but they usually ended by Katie saying, “I’ll be a Christian when I grow up, Mother; that will be quite time enough.” So months went by until Katie was nearly twelve years old, and still the mother’s prayers for her were unanswered.
One summer day it was arranged that Katie, with one of her school friends, should go for a long ramble in the woods. Since the evenings were warm and light, they took their supper with them, so they need not hurry home. They had a pleasant time together, and were thinking it would soon be time to turn homeward, when they were startled by a distant peal of thunder. They had been so busy picking flowers in the woods and weaving them into necklaces, that they had not noticed the heavy clouds that had been gathering for some time. Now they found that it would be impossible for them to reach their homes, or, indeed, any place of shelter, before the storm came on, for they were far from the nearest cottage. They hurried out of the wood, but they had some distance to go to reach the road. The rain pelted down, the thunder pealed loudly, and the lightning flashes filled them with terror. As they neared the road Katie begged her companion to seek shelter under a massive tree till the storm was over. But Mary insisted on their leaving it at once, saying that her father had told her it was very dangerous to go under a tree in a storm. Katie still lingered on, but finally Mary had to take her hand and almost drag her to the road. Scarcely had they reached it when suddenly they heard a terrific crash. Looking back, they saw that lightning had struck the tree, and shivered its enormous trunk.
The children were awe-struck, to think how nearly they had lost their lives, for had they stayed two minutes longer they would have been killed. In spite of the drenching rain they stood still, with pale faces, looking at the place where the grand old tree had stood. Then they started on their way again in terror, lest they themselves should be struck before they reached home. However, they were preserved, but there was an impression made on their young minds which lasted throughout their lifetime.
Katie did not soon recover from the shock, and having taken a severe cold from the soaking they got, she had to stay in bed some days. One evening she said, “Oh, Mother, what would have become of me if I had stayed under that tree? It would have served me right if God had killed me then for saying I would not be a Christian till I grew up.”
“I think you learned a lesson that night, Katie,” said her mother. “Do you really desire to be a Christian now?”
“Yes, Mother, if Jesus will have me after keeping Him waiting so long,” was her reply.
“‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out,’” answered Mother, quoting the words of the Lord Jesus.
“Then I will come,” said Katie. “But Mother, how shall I come?”
“‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Chri and thou shalt be saved.’”
“But I do believe on Him, Mother. I have believed on Him all my life.”
“Ah, but not in your heart, or in such a way as to make you love Him. Do you believe He died to save you?”
“Oh, I see it now, Mother. Jesus, saved me; He has saved me. Yes, I believe; but how could He be so good as to die for such a wicked thing as I have been?”
“Because He loves you, Katie. Shall I kneel down and thank Him for all that He has done for us both?” And the mother knelt beside the bed, and pour out her heart in thankfulness to to God who was no stranger to her.
Dear young reader, have you learned to know Jesus as your Saviour? Can ye say, “He is my Saviour, He has saved me?”
ML 09/27/1959