WAYS NOT KNOWN
As mentioned previously, Everlasting Pearl's husband was raving mad for
three years. Then he took a turn for the better, but was still insane
and unable to do any work. For seven years he remained in that
condition, and then, when death knocked at the door, it seemed to bring
relief to the members of the family.
A few months later Everlasting Pearl was persuaded to marry a widower,
a quiet, honest tailor, who lived at Kucheng. So she returned to the
place of her birth, and found a real home awaiting her. Mr. Lü, her
husband, was a man of sterling worth, and soon a real affection sprang
up between them. Mrs. Lü, for as such Everlasting Pearl will now
appear, was very happy, and fully appreciated her change of
circumstances.
Mr. Lü had three little children when his new wife entered his home;
but about a month later one child died. He had been ill for some time,
and Mrs. Lü's motherly care could not save him from death. A second
son died three years later, apparently from the same illness, both
seeming to waste away. Their mother had died from consumption, and
evidently her weakness had affected the children. Only one child, a
brother's son, remained, and Mrs. Lü took him to her loving heart. The
lad, in his turn, lavished all his childish affection on her, for she
was a real mother to him.
About two years after her marriage to Mr. Lü, the latter was asked by a
neighbour, who was a seeker after the Truth, to accompany him to the
Gospel Hall. We were then holding meetings in the house of a
Christian, who lived in a village about two miles' distance from
Kucheng. But Mr. Lü, being a very nervous man, felt shy about going
and shrank from meeting strangers, especially when these appeared in
the form of foreigners. Moreover, he was loath to give up his time
without having a sure compensation for it, as he was hard-working, and
did not like to spend an hour in vain. So he refused to go.
Another two years passed by. The Boxer troubles had quietened down,
and the workers who had returned were again holding meetings in the
little village near Kucheng. The place was very hard, the Christians
cold, and the man in whose house the services were held was not on good
terms with the other Church members in the village. One Sunday, when
the writer was there, her heart was specially heavy. The coldness was
appalling, and she came to the point where she said, "Lord, I cannot go
on with the work here. If Thou dost not show forth Thy mighty power in
doing a new thing in this place, I must give it up!" The spiritual
battle was a fearful and exhausting one. Returning home to the central
station, she told her fellow-workers how she felt, and all set to pray
for that place as never before, claiming victory from the Lord. A
month later, the writer visited that centre again in fear and
trembling; but the Lord had already begun to work. He was manifestly
in the midst, and it was easily realized that God had granted a real
answer to prayer.
In one of the meetings one of the Christians humbly confessed his sin
before God, and asked for forgiveness and for strength to walk in
newness of life. Another Christian gave a bright testimony. Life was
beginning to get into the dead bones. That Sunday morning, too, a new
enquirer came to the meetings, and stayed for the whole day. His
presence there seemed to be a promise of coming blessing. And this
impression was not wrong, for the following month a few others came
with him, some of them from Kucheng. One of these enquirers invited
Mr. Lü to the services, and this time he consented. Well does the
writer remember the first Sunday he came. His face and manner alike
were altogether out of the ordinary, and somehow, from the very
beginning, a conviction was received that God had chosen him for
Himself. From that very day a work was begun in his heart.
Soon the little meeting-place became too small for the congregation,
and a house was rented at Kucheng. Many enquirers had gathered around
this centre, some with mixed motives, it is true. There were those who
only came for worldly advantages, and these soon dropped off. Others
were touched by the Spirit of God, and a real work was begun in their
hearts. But two or three years later, when they had to make their
decision for or against Christ, when they had to count the cost, which
in some cases was a heavy one, they were not willing to pay the price,
and gradually grew cold and indifferent. Some of them caused real
disappointment, as they had been so bright and promising. But there
were a few who went steadily on, and among them was Mr. Lü. He never
wavered, never missed a Sunday. Although in the beginning he used to
do some pressing work after the Sunday meetings, it was pointed out to
him one night that it was not only he who should keep the day of rest,
but all within his house. He listened and understood, and the next
morning, being Sunday, he brought his son to the services. From that
day he never sent him to work again on the Sunday. To those who knew
that Mr. Lü had never wasted an hour before, or let his work stop for
any pleasure of his own, it was a real miracle that he should now be
willing to allow his whole household rest on Sunday. What had happened
to the man? What power was there in that strange religion that could
make him forgo all the money a weekly day of rest meant to him and his
family? What was it that had given the timid and reserved man courage
to speak out freely about the new life that had opened up before him,
and had made him strong to stand against all the ridicule that was
heaped upon him in many of the houses where he worked? A God who could
bring about such a change was a God indeed.
From the very beginning, Mr. Lü showed unusual understanding about
spiritual things. Was it not because he believed God and took Him
simply at His word? He never attempted to bring in his own wisdom,
never leaned to his own understanding. Very often, when asked
questions about spiritual matters, his answers would cause astonishment
and surprise. The Spirit of God was taking of the things of Christ,
and showing them unto him, and day by day his faith grew stronger and
his trust in the Lord firmer.