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Page 68
How little dreamed gentle Fanny Elder--or Fanny Claire, as she
was called--when she laid her cheek lovingly to that of her sick
"father"--she knew him by no other name--and drew her arms around his
neck, that he was suffering alone on her account. In her unselfish
love, Claire felt a sweet compensation--while all he endured on her
account had the effect to draw her, as it were, into his very heart.
As quickly as it could be done, Mrs. Claire got through with the most
pressing of her morning duties, and then, the older children away to
school, she came and sat down by her husband's bedside, and took his
hand in hers. As he looked into her face, pale from sleeplessness and
anxiety, tears filled his eyes.
"O, Edie!" said he, his voice tremulous with feeling, "isn't this
disheartening? What _are_ we to do?"
"_He_ careth for us," was the low, calmly spoken reply; and, as Edith
lifted a finger upward, a ray of heavenly confidence beamed in her
countenance.
"I know, Edie; I know, but"--
The sick man left his sentence unfinished. A heavy sigh marking his
state of doubt and darkness.
"We must feel as well as know, Edward," said his wife. "God is good.
In looking back through all our past life, does not the retrospection
lead to this undoubting conclusion? I am sure you will say yes. Has
he not, in every case, proved better to us than all our fears?--Why,
then, should we distrust him now? In the beautiful language of Cowper,
let us say in these dark seasons--
'Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.'
"Shall we doubt the sun's existence, because the night has fallen? No,
dear husband, no! There are bright stars smiling above us in token of
his unerring return. We know that the morning cometh after a season of
darkness; and so, after our spirits have lingered awhile in the realm
of shadows, the light will break in from above. Has it not always been
so, Edward?"
"He has led us by a way which we knew not."
The sick man's eyes were closed as he murmured these words; and his
voice was slightly tremulous, yet expressive of a returning state of
confidence.
"Yet, how safely," replied Edith. "When our feet were in slippery
places, and we leaned on Him, did he not support us firmly? and when
the mire and clay were deep in our path, did He not keep us from
sinking therein?"
"He is goodness itself," said Claire, a calmer expression coming into
his face. "It is wrong so to let doubt, distrust, and fear creep in
and get possession of the heart; but, we are human--weakness and error
are born with us. When the way in which we are walking is suddenly
closed up before us, and we see the opening to no other way, how can
we keep the faint heart from sinking?"
"Only as Peter was saved from sinking. If we look to God, He will lift
our hearts above the yielding billows. If we stand still, hopefully
and trustingly, the high mountain before us will become as a plain, so
that we can walk on in a smooth way, joyful and rejoicing."
"And so this high mountain, which has risen up so suddenly, will
soon be cleft for us or levelled to a plain, if we wait patiently and
confidingly for its removal?"
"Oh! I am sure of it, Edward," replied Mrs. Claire, with a beautiful
enthusiasm. "We are His creatures, and He loves us with an infinite
love. When his children are disposed to trust too much to the arm of
flesh, He sometimes shows them their weakness in order that they may
feel His strength. Faithfully and unselfishly, my husband, have you
tried to meet the suddenly increased demand upon us: and this out of
love for one of God's children. In the trial, weakness has prevailed
over strength. Suddenly your hands have fallen to your side powerless.
God saw it all; and permitted it all; and, in His own good time, will
supply, from other sources, all that is really needed. We have the
promise--our bread shall be given, and our water sure--not only
the natural food that sustains outward life, but the true bread of
heavenly affections, and the waters of pure truth, which nourish and
sustain the spirit."
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