Could I give space to the hundreds of happy letters that tell of the
change from gloom to brightness, from soul-bondage to freedom and
new strength, it would be clearly seen that, though the men deeply
appreciate their Home and friends and are intensely grateful for all
that may be done to help them, they fully realize the power behind
the work. It is this power that has given them new hope and from
it they have drawn their deepest consolation and surest certainty
for the unknown future. Often in life the human friendship is the
stepping-stone to the Divine. The moonlight makes us realize that the
sun still shines.
Sometime since the Chaplain of Auburn, a devoted shepherd to that big
flock wrote me as follows: "When you were so very sick three years ago
the men here were very much alarmed and anxious for your recovery.
Among them was an old-timer who had spent over twenty years solid in
prison out of forty-nine years of life, the longest time of liberty
between his incarcerations being seven months. When he heard that fears
were entertained that you might not recover, he felt impelled to pray
for you. In relating the story he said, 'I dropped on my knees to pray
for her and as I did so I was overwhelmed with the thought that God
would not hear such a sinner as I was. I began to pray for God to have
mercy upon me and in my pleading forgot where I was and everything but
the fact that I was a sinner and Jesus Christ my Saviour.' His sympathy
for you was the means of leading him to Christ." The sequel of this
story made another record of successful right-doing on the outside as
well as in prison.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account