18S7 



GLKANl-NGS IN BEE CUl/rUUK. 



229 



and confidence in eacTi other. Misunder- 

 standings between parent and (^hild are sad 

 to contemplate ; but, my I'l iend, tliey are 

 sadder still when they arise between hus- 

 band and wife. If the relationship between 

 those whom God lias joined together is a 

 beautiful one. how very sad is the contem- 

 plation of misundersiandings and hard feel- 

 ings between these two. 



The few brief lines in our afflicted friend's 

 letter tell us the relationship between him 

 and his wife was of the kind I have tried to 

 picture. Harmony and hai)piness— perhaps 

 the greatest hapJDiness (Jod has given to 

 mankind— was theirs, and now she is gone. 

 God has called her iiorae, and left our friend 

 sorrowful and alone. And no\y for the last 

 line of that letter. Bowed down with grief, 

 and a grief that seems to have blighted the 

 whole of his natux'e, our friend breathes 

 forth this wail, wrong from his heart by the 

 keenest anguish. Can there be any sweet- 

 ness amid all this bitterness V Dear friend 

 S., I can not promise you that all at once 

 this load of sorrow shall be lifted ; but we 

 can promise that there will be sweetness 

 come out of it— perhaps a higher and purer 

 joy and peace than you have ever yet known; 

 but it must come through submisson to the 

 divine will. Remember, dear brother, what 

 it was that brought forth those immortal 

 words—'' Thy will, not mine, be done." It 

 was the Savior wlio uttered them in contem- 



Elation of the trial he was about to undergo, 

 [e prayed that the bitter cup might pass 

 away, but ended tlie prayer, ''Nevertheless, 

 not my will, but tliine, be done." Let no 

 murmuring thoughts enter your mind. Be- 

 ware of looking about you and comparing 

 your lot with otiiers who" have not thus been 

 called upon to endure such trials. Put your 

 trust in God. and bring your grief to" the 

 feet of the Savior ; even though you may 

 not understand tiie reason of all this, dear 

 brother, do not question or waver. Let 

 your relation and your trust be like that 

 which I have tried to picture between hus- 

 band and wife, or between mother and 

 child. Say to yourself over and over again, 

 " He knows best ; " •■ it is the Lord." 



For your encouragement, let me tell you 

 of some cases I have known. When my 

 father was taken away every one was as- 

 tonished to see my mother bear it not only 

 patiently but almost triumphantly. Al- 

 though several years have passed, even now 

 there is no suliject on which she can con- 

 verse—no subject that seems so bright and 

 full of happiness to her — as that of his 

 death. People talk about the loved ones 

 having only gone on liefore ; but in her case 

 it is a reality. She speaks of it as some- 

 thing to rejoice over. He is in glory, and 

 she will be with him soon. Many people, 

 even her own children, thought it was un- 

 natural, and they thought then- woiUd be a 

 reaction soon ; but no reaction has ever 

 come. Again, a few months ago one of the 

 young men employed in our factory died 

 suddenly. Nobody thought of such a thing 

 as his slight sickness being fatal. A mes- 

 senger came to me while I was in jail, Sun- 

 day afternoon. I was stunned and bewil- 

 dered by his words— "Mr. Root, N W 



is dead." I started at once, wondering how 

 I could comfort the grief-stricken parents. 

 Their eyes were full of tears; but I was sur- 

 prised to see smiles shining through the tears. 

 The mother seemed even happier than I had 

 ever seen her, and 1 have known her for 

 many, many years, and, thank God, she luis 

 always been a trusting, faithful disciple. 

 The joy that shone forth from her face was 

 caused by the fact that, with his last words. 

 he told them lie was resting in the Savior's 

 arms, and why should they lament or be 

 cast down V Itis experience had not been as 

 bright as that of some others, and he was 

 jiot much given to talUing. especiidly on 

 such subjects. His words were mostly brief, 

 like those of our jioor friend who w rites the 

 letter. When he came to die. the few brief 

 sentences he spoke to liis mother as he 

 breathed ids last had enough of heaven in 

 them to make her vejoi(;e for the rest of her 

 life. I have talked with her since, but she 

 always makes me ashamed of myself, be- 

 cause her faith is so much brighter and 

 stronger than mine. •• Wliy should I be sad 

 or sorrowful? "she says;" I have prayed 

 for him these many long years, and now in 

 a strange and unexpected way God has ans- 

 wered the prayer. He has taken him home, 

 to be witii the Savior, and he is safe— safe 

 through all eternity ; Avhy should we la- 

 ment ':' ' ' 



The mother punishes the child because he 

 has been disobedient. We can not always 

 say. however, that God punishes us Ijecause 

 we have been disobedient. In fact, Christ's 

 own words deelai-e most positively that mis- 

 fortunes and atflictions and grievous trials 

 are not sent to those who are most sinful. 



And Jesus uiiswering' said unto thein. Suppose ye 

 that these Galileans were sinners above all the 

 Galileans l)ccause they sutfeied such thinjfsV or 

 those cis-hteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell. 

 and slew them, think ye that they were sinners 

 above all men that dwelt at Jerusalem ? I tell you. 

 Nay; but. except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 

 perish.— Luke 1.3 : 3, 4, h. 



Therefore, dear friend S., we have no 

 right to presume that you have in any way 

 been lemiss. We all must meet death, and 

 we must all part with oiu' loved ones, soon- 

 er or later. The rain falls upon the just 

 and upon the unjust. The only important 

 thing in this life is to have that full and 

 perfect trust in God I have tried to tell you 

 about. The little one I have used as an 

 illustration show^s by his actions. "I love 

 my ma, even if she does punish me ; " and 

 we should say, in the language of the old 

 patriarch Job". " Though he slay me. yet will 

 I trust in him." This trust should in no 

 sense prevent us from doing all in our pow- 

 er to avert calamity and atfliction. We 

 know, dear friend S.. although you have not 

 told us, that you did all in your power to 

 save the life of the darling wife who is 

 gone. But tiiis mattei- of life and death is 

 bevond our control. The best physicians 

 the world affords have admitted tlieir help- 

 lessness over and over again. Death, like 

 the winds and waves, is in the hands of the 

 almighty Father. At his word they obey ; 

 and lie only can kill and make alive. 



We are not told that the old patriarch 

 Abraham was filled with peace and joy as 



