Amelia's father, whom I saw a few hours ago with her excellent and
pious mother, said to me, in speaking of their darling child, "For my
own joy and comfort I should have wished to have kept her with us; but,
my dear Anna, even if I could have done so, what would have been all
our happiness, compared with that which she now possesses in the
presence of her God."
But do not suppose, my sister, that Amelia, with all her piety, was
less prudent with regard to the things of this world, than faithful
regarding those of heaven. Her mother has shown me her books, and her
different arrangements, all of which indicate that discretion spoken of
in Scripture, carried out in the most minute particulars.
First, as respects order and cleanliness in everything belonging to
her: it would be impossible to imagine a more proper arrangement than
the one she made of each article, both in her wardrobe, her
writing-table, her work-box, and her account-book.
She had not much money to devote to her works of charity, but her
industry made up for her limited means; for instance, in opening the
Bible which she generally made use of, I found in it, four or five
pages written with a great deal of care; and her journal informed her
mother, who read it, of the reason of this circumstance. It runs thus:
"As old Margaret has but one Bible, some of the leaves of which have
been lost, I have given her mine, which is quite complete, and have
taken hers, adding to it some sheets of paper, upon which I have
written the passages which were deficient. Thus I have saved the
expense of a new Bible; and it is the same thing to me."
Amelia's diary is very remarkable; her mother has allowed me to read
many portions of it, and to copy out what relates to her usual manner
of employing each day. I send it to you, dear Esther, and you will
find, as I have done, that the Spirit of God always teaches those who
trust in Him, how precious _time_ is here below. The following is what
our dear friend wrote upon this subject.
"_January 1st_, 1844--Nearly eighteen centuries, and a half have passed
away, since our Saviour took upon himself the form of human flesh for
our salvation. Those years seemed long as they succeeded each other,
but now that they are gone, they appear as nothing.
"Families, and nations, and the mighty generations of mankind, which,
in times gone by, peopled the earth, have all passed away. Nothing
remains of them here below!
"But such is not the case in heaven,--I should rather say,--in
eternity. There, all these nations still exist, no man can be absent,
but must appear before the Sovereign Judge, to answer for the use which
he has made of his time.
"How short that time is! Where are the years that David lived, and
where are those which Methuselah passed in this world? their whole
duration seems, at this distance, in the words of St. James, 'Even as a
vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.'
"It will therefore be the same with me. I know not how long I shall
live here below, perhaps I shall see but a portion of this year, and
shall enter into glory before it is concluded; or perhaps I shall yet
see many more years. This the Lord knows, and I ought not to consider
that such knowledge would be of any importance to me, since that which
constitutes my _life_, is not its length or duration, but the use which
is made of it.
"It is to Jesus, then, that all my life must be devoted, without him I
can do nothing. 'My life is hid with Christ in God.' He has 'bought me
with a price,' I ought, therefore, 'to glorify God in my body, and in
my spirit, which are God's.'
"Truly to live is to know, that my thoughts and actions are all
directed to the glory of Jesus, whether upon earth by faith and hope,
or in heaven by the sight and by the glory of God.
"But here below, I have only time at my disposal; that is to say, days
composed of hours or rather, I have in reality but a single day to make
use of. Yesterday is no longer mine, and to-morrow, where is it? I have
it not yet, and perhaps shall never see it.
"Lo my earthly life is 'to-day.' What must I do then with 'to-day,'
that God may be honored and glorified in it? for after all, if I have
the happiness of counting the year 1844, as dating from a Christian
era, and not from that of a false prophet with the Mahomedans, nor yet
of a false God, with the poor Indians, it must be to Jesus Christ, from
whose birth I count my years, that those years should be dedicated.
"Here I am, therefore, in the presence of my Saviour, of whom I implore
the Spirit of wisdom and prudence to guide me in the employment of this
my day, since in reality I have but one, and that is, 'To-day.'
"But I cannot do better than walk in the footsteps of my Redeemer, and
in his conduct and conversation whilst on earth, I observe these three
things: Temperance, piety, and charity, to all of which he wholly
devoted himself, and has thus left me an example to follow.
"I will therefore imitate him first in his temperance. He rose early in
the morning--he eat frugally--he worked diligently--he wearied himself
in well-doing: in a word, he exerted the whole strength of his mind and
body in the cause of truth, but never in the cause of evil.
"These, therefore, must be settled rules, moderate sleep, moderate
repasts, moderate care and attention to the body; active employment,
always to a useful purpose, profitable to my neighbor, and never
interfering with my duties at home.
"In the next place, I must imitate Jesus in His _piety_. His Father's
will was as His daily food. What a thought! To live wholly to God, and
as He himself teaches us in His Holy Word. To do this, I must know His
Word; I must study it, meditate upon it, and learn it by heart. Besides
reading, I must pray, for prayer is the life both of my heart and soul
with God. What glory is thus permitted to me, a poor sinner, that I
_ought_, and that I _can_, live to Him, love Him, and devote myself to
Him! It is heaven already begun on earth; for in heaven my soul will
enjoy no other happiness than that of knowing God, and living to His
glory. This thought fills me with joy, and I am encouraged by it to
consecrate myself wholly to Him, as did my Lord and Saviour.
"Lastly, I will, by the grace of God, imitate Jesus in his _charity_.
How many souls there are about me to love, to comfort, to enlighten and
to assist. But I can only do it in the measure which God himself has
assigned to me. At my age, and but a girl, subject to the wishes of my
parents, I ought only to desire to do good in proportion to the means
with which the Lord has furnished me. But I must, in so doing, endeavor
to overcome selfishness, idleness, the love of ease, avarice, hardness
of heart, pride, and indifference, and I must love my neighbor as
myself. Oh! what an important undertaking, and how many excuses and
deceits this kind of charity will encounter and overcome.
"But I will look to Jesus, and pray to him; I will implore the secret
guidance of his Spirit; and since he is faithful, he will not leave me
alone, but will lead me, and enable me to walk day by day, I mean
'to-day,' in his sight, and in communion with him, who is so full of
love and gentleness."
This, my dear Esther, is what I have copied from Amelia's journal. You
see the light in which our friend regarded her life on earth, and how
much importance she attached to one _day_--a single day.
As I read what she had written, I felt my soul humbled before God, and
I trembled to think of the useless way in which I had hitherto spent my
time.
You see in particular what Amelia felt on the subject of piety; what
love her soul had for God! and this is what produced in her that
active, sincere, and constant charity.
You cannot form the least idea of the work, of kindness and benevolence
which she was enabled to accomplish. That passage, "The memory of the
just is blessed," is truly applicable to her.
Amelia was justified in her Saviour, for she trusted in him, and thus
was she also justified before God, by her faith in Jesus. The spirit of
Jesus led her in "all her way," and in whatever family she appeared,
her actions and words manifested a heavenly mind.
Her name is remembered with blessing in the hearts of all who knew her;
her counsels, her instructions, her example, and her acts of
benevolence, are continually spoken of by those who witnessed them, and
it is thus that she left behind a sweet savor of holiness, like a ray
of heavenly light.
Dear Esther, here is an example placed before us; it has been the will
of God that we should know her, that we might be charmed with her
excellence, and that the happiness both of her life and death, might
tempt us to imitate her.
No, no, my sister, she is not dead; she is rather, as the poor workman
said, at her grave, "a child of God in heaven." As _she_ followed
Jesus, let us also follow her, and let her memory be thus a blessing to
us both.
God be with you, my dear sister. I long to see you, that we may pray
the Lord together, to make us like his faithful, holy servant, the dear
and pious Amelia.
Yours, &c.,