Though poets may sing of the streets of pure gold
And talk of its mansions so fair,
After all it is naught; the half is not told
Of my beautiful home over there.
Man's eye has ne'er seen nor his ear ever heard,
Nor can he e'er picture the scene;
The music's so rare no one can record
The strains of the faithful, I ween.
Though art has portrayed fair angels of light
In tints that enrapture the mind;
'Tis grander by far in my home ever bright,
Where the glory of God is enshrined.
No; ear hath not heard, and eye hath not seen,
Any thing that will ever compare
With the grandeur and beauty of that heavenly scene,
Of my beautiful home over there.
'Tis only by faith that gleams from the land,
Where they need not the light of the sun,
Can brighten the life or lighten the pain
Of those who will hear the "Well done."
Some day when my toiling and trials are o'er,
I shall see the fair angels of light;
On their wings they will bear me across to that shore
Where my faith will be lost in the sight.
On the night of November 22 the children and I were alone, and I was
wonderfully impressed with the scripture in Isa. 45:2, 3. It came to
me three times during the day. The next morning, being Sunday, we were
still alone. The children were singing "What a Mighty God We Serve,"
when I heard a crackling noise and, looking up, saw the house was on
fire. I looked to the Lord for presence of mind, and we went to work
getting things out. One of the children said, "This is what your
scripture was for. Perhaps this is for our deliverance." I realized the
presence of the Lord in the whole affair, and he wonderfully helped us
to save all the things of importance, and just as the fire was getting
so hot that it seemed we could do no more, a man came along and helped
us. There was an empty house nearby, into which we moved.
The people decided to help my husband build another house, and they
began work. Thus, it appeared that we should have to remain there
always; but the children and I took no notice of it. I told the Lord he
knew there was more clothing we needed yet, and asked him, to give me,
when it was time, the money to get the goods. In a short time I received
it, and we were busy sewing until late at night, and the Lord gave me
such a glorious assurance of deliverance.
I had two trunks packed full, mostly with clothing. Husband said one
day, "I believe I will trade the place." I did not know what to say,
as I knew God was doing the managing. In a few days he traded it and
decided to go about twenty miles north and rent some land. This was
about the first of February, and he wanted to start in March. The man
who owned the house where we were living, came and wanted it, and so we
put up a small tent to live in the rest of the time. It began raining
and rained hard the most of the time for two or three weeks. Everything
was so damp, but God's hallowed presence made all things bearable.
My husband planned to take two teams and have me drive one. I knew
almost nothing about driving, and the roads were as bad as they could
be, up and down mountains, over rocks, and through mud, and I could
scarcely make a move of any kind to please my husband. He also decided
to take twenty-nine goats, which he intended having the children drive.
The morning we started I had been sick all night, and it began raining
and the wagon sheet began to leak; but I kept trusting, and it stopped
raining. Our first interesting experience was the horses balking in
the river. It took about an hour before we got out. No damage was done,
however, except that Husband found a roll of papers which I had intended
for distribution, and threw them into the river.
We camped near a house that night. The next morning Husband said,
"Unpack that box and leave the dishes here, for we are too heavily
loaded." The box had been packed with care and contained some of my best
things, and about two sets of dishes which had scarcely been used. He
left them with some other things. One of the girls who had walked the
day before became ill. We started on our way up a mountain slope, which
was a distance of three miles. After we had gone a short distance, my
husband said, "I am going back and unload some of these things." He
proceeded to throw out the bedding and other things on the wet ground
and, leaving us, went back and left the trunks with the dishes. Both
trunks were unlocked and there were so many people who could not be
trusted. I had taken the address of the people with whom I left the
dishes. We had no clothing left except what we had on our persons, and
a few things I had felt impressed to keep out before we left home. The
trunks contained all the clothing for our future home, so I believed
that God would take care of them.
The roads could not have been worse nor more dangerous. Some places were
so steep and one-sided that it seemed the wagon might fall over, and the
mud-holes were terrible. The team which I was driving gave much trouble,
as one mule pulled ahead and the other was slow. Husband expected me
to keep them even and drive with one hand, and he quite often gave me
a lick with the same club with which he whipped the mules. Two of the
children were sick, and the jolts of the wagon were very hard on them.
While passing through some of these experiences, the words of Paul came
to me, "In perils often; a night and a day have I been in the deep," and
the song, "Anywhere with Jesus I Can Safely Go." I must say, Praise the
Lord, for he helped my faith to rise above the situation and healed the
children and protected our lives.
My husband failed to find any land to rent or work, so we kept going.
Two of the children were still walking and driving the goats. On account
of the limited space I can tell but very little of their experiences
along the way. One circumstance, however, that gave us much concern
was that there were many streams to cross, and at one place by driving
the goats along on the mountain-side the children would miss having to
cross the stream several times, and they were required to take the
mountain-side. It was steep and above the river. Sometimes they would
slide and have considerable difficulty in stopping, and the goats would
run up the mountains, jump on rocks, and cause trouble. My husband drove
on and would not wait for them at the bridge, which was about a mile
from where they started, and it was some time before I saw them again,
a time of great anxiety. It was one of the times when I had to trust
the Lord to take care of them.
After the children had driven the goats about two weeks, my husband
sold them. One day about four weeks after we left our home, I heard my
husband tell a man that he was going to ----. This was the town the
Lord had shown me would be our future home. You will remember that our
clothing was left behind, so that our appearance was not presentable;
but I deepened my consecration and told the Lord that if he wanted us
to go in such a plight, I could say amen. Before we arrived, he opened
the way for us so that we looked quite presentable, considering the
fact that we were traveling. A week before our arrival, I wrote for the
trunks to be sent to the town. We arrived in safety. Three weeks after
I wrote for our goods, they had not arrived, and so I wrote again. We
received a letter from the people saying that they had moved and left
the trunks in the house, which was not locked. We gave them the dishes
and other things in order to get them to take the goods to the railroad,
and upon the arrival of the trunks we found them just as I had packed
them.
We were now glad to be with the dear people of God and to know that the
captivity was turned. My husband began telling the usual stories, but
they were not received even by his own people. He became very miserable
and alarmed about his own safety on account of the people. He left the
town, and has never been heard from. During these years of trial, many
hours of deep concern have been spent with a hope and trust that the
dark shades which cover his life may be swept away and that even yet his
future life here on earth may be crowned with the blessings of the Lord
and the presence of the Almighty. I do not know what the future holds in
store, but I am expecting some good things from God, whether or not my
pathway is strewn with trials.
In relating this experience, I have been obliged to omit many things
that could have been told and that might have been helpful to others who
are passing through similar trials, as there are so many experiences
that would not be advisable to publish. I believe that the good part may
be a help and encouragement to many who have like trials and that the
sad experiences may be a warning to those who trifle with the mercy of
God. My dear husband might have been with us and happy today instead
of suffering an awful foretaste of the regions of the lost, had he
only been obedient to the Lord and walked in the light of his Word.
The sister who was in Arkansas is with us, and we are working together
for the Lord.
I have humbly submitted everything into the hands of the Lord and have
been better able to understand the words of the Psalmist, wherein he
said, "Teach me thy way, 0 Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because
of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies:
for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out
cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."