Making the Most of Life A Tribute to tke Memory of Mrs. T . C . Horton Who Departed October 10th “ To be with Christ, is far, (ar better”—Phil. 1:23
¿N Sunday evening, October "10, 1920, ju st as the sun was fading from sight, and the people were gathering for the regular weekly Twilight Com munion Service in the Church of the Open Door, a little
How wonderfully does her life attest the truth of th a t saying of the Lord Jesus, “Faithful in that which is least— faithful also in much." It was ever her way to “do the next thing,” no matter how seemingly unimportant, thus pre paring the way for the larger service which was given her, the influence of which has been felt in almost every na tion of the world, through thé women and girls who, inspired by her life, her teaching and her example, have been led to dedicate themselves to the service of Christ. Her E arlier Life “Mother” Horton was born some sixty-eight years ago in Rome, N. Y. Early environment had little to do in influencing her to choose the path of self-sacrificing devotion to Christ,— for, though surrounded by every comfort and advantage th a t a loving father and mother could provide, hers was a Uni- versalist home, where the latch string was always out for ministers of that faith, and she was educated in a Univer- salist college, giving the valedictory ad dress at her graduation. But “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,” and He has His own way of bringing His purposes to pass. Little Anna Kingsbury (for th a t was her maiden name), was ex tremely musical, and when she attended the Universalist church always played the organ. But the church was small and often no meetings were held in it, and at such times her services as an or ganist were in demand a t the Presby terian church. She was not “between two fires,” for there was no fire in th e sermons preached in the Universalist
woman closed her eyes and slipped away in obedience to the call of her Master,— "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." The announcement of her home-going, which was made a few hours later to the vast congregation assembled for evening worship in the auditorium, brought a sense of shock and personal loss to those of the audience who were privileged to know her—and these were many. When on the following Tuesday her friends gathered to look for the last time on her loved face, they came, not by hundreds, but literally by thousands —a great company-—sorrowing not as those who have no hope, but rejoicing in the coronation of a life of loving service. Who was she and what had she done to merit such a demonstration in her honor? Ju st a modest, retiring, home- loving little wpman, who—having first given her own self to the Lord—had heard His call for service and answered “Here am I.” Truly it was for others th a t she lived, giving unstintedly of her time, her strength, her effort, and her heart’s love to those with any sort of need, from the highest to the lowest, rich and poor, wise and ignorant, with no thought of commendation or reward, actuated only by the constraining love of Christ.
Made with FlippingBook HTML5