A friend met me on the street, and asked if I had seen the farm in
Kilmalcolm Parish that was to be sold. I replied that I had not, and
that I considered the place too far away. In talking over the matter, he
persuaded me to go and see the farm, and when I did go, and, standing
where our big central building is now, saw that it had everything I
prayed for,--perfect drainage, and not only the burn, but a river and a
large flat field for a recreation ground,--I said in my heart to the
Lord: "This will do." Ever since I have blessed the Lord for that; my
way was not God's way, and so He shut us in amongst these Renfrewshire
hills, away from the ways of men.
After paying £3,560 for the farm, we had about £1,500 left, and in 1887
we began to build a church and school, to cost £5,000. I told the
contractor that we should stop if the money did not come in; but it
kept coming in, and the work went on. In 1888 I had resolved to go to
Canada with the party of children going out that year, and I saw clearly
that I would need to stop the contractors if I got no more money in the
interval, for I was still £1400 short. Yet I believed the Lord would
send the money before I left in the latter end of May, though the time I
write of was as far on as the middle of the month. I kept praying, and
the assurance was strong that the money would come. Just three days
before the date on which I was to sail, a friend came to me, and said it
had been laid upon his heart to build one of the cottages at
Bridge-of-Weir, but the Lord, he thought, would accept the money for the
central building just as much as though it were put into houses, and he
handed me £1300.
All the money belonging to the Homes and all my own was in the City of
Glasgow Bank when it failed, and hundreds of the givers were involved as
well. On my way up from the Homes on the day of the disaster, a
gentleman met me, and told me the sad news. At the moment I realised
what the news meant for me--my own personal loss and the needs of the
Homes--for that was in September, and our financial year closed in
October. With all our money locked up, to clear the year without debt
would be difficult, but then the promise of God came: "Although the
fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the
labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the
stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my
salvation."
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