Sir, one of our boys is badly wounded, and wants to see you right away.” Following the soldier, I was taken to the hospital and led to a bed where lay a young man, pale at., bloodstained from a terrible wound above the temple. I saw at a glanc1 That he had but a few. hours to live.
Taking his hand, I said, “Well, friend, what can I do for you?” He looked up in my face, and placing his finger where his hair was stained with blood he said: “Sir, cut a big lock from here for Mother—for Mother, mind, Sir.”
I hesitated to do it “Don’t be afraid. Sir, to disfigure my hair. It’s for Mother, and nobody will come to see me in the dead-house tomorrow.”
I did as he asked, and put the lock in an envelope in my pocket.
“Now, Sir,” said the dying man, “I want you to kneel down by me and thank God.”
“What for?” I asked.
“Thank God for giving me such a mother. She is a good mother; her teachings comfort and console me now. Thank God that she told me about the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of sinners, and thank God that He is my Saviour. Oh, what would I do now if I were not a Christian! Thank God for the prosed home in glory, for I know I’ll soon be there where there will be no more suffering and death, but I shall see the face of Jesus.”
I knelt beside that bed and thanked God for all that the young man had asked. As I rose from my knees he smiled and said, “Good-bye and thank you, Sir. If you see Mother, tell her that I have gone to be with Jesus, and thank her again for leading me to Him.”
Dear young reader, if you have a father or a mother who tells you again and again about Jesus, heed their message and take Jesus as your Saviour. And, dear mothers, be encouraged to go on teaching your children of the precious blood of Jesu which can cleanse from sin and fit us for glory.
ML 01/21/1951