95
March, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
PRAYER... a C lo is o n C^ Ïa sic, a n d a (S h a n g e d
LIFE
A TRUE STORY B y ALVERTA N. DUNDAS, Fillmore, California
talk, but every word I uttered seemed like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. “ A fter a time, I took my departure, and admitting to myself that I had been a miserable failure, I walked home over the wet brick walks, with tears o f shame and dis couragement rolling down my cheeks. I had prayed to be given a girl—and what a mess had been made of my part o f the work ! “ Several evenings after my visit with Frances, she came to the parsonage; as she stood in the door, she whispered that she had something special to tell me. “ ‘You have been converted,’ I replied. Then, looking straight into her shining eyes, I asked, ‘When did it hap pen ?’ “ ‘At five o’clock this afternoon I surrendered, and. He accepted me!’ she ferverently replied. “ Later, as we talked over the change that had taken place, she bluntly announced, “ ‘The day you came to see me, you saved my life.’ “ ‘Saved your life !’ I exclaimed. ‘How ?’ “ T was raising a bottle o f poison to my lips the first time you knocked,’ she said. ‘Quickly I decided not to take the deadly stuff until the one who was so near left. You see, I was afraid I would make some sort o f commotion, and I did not want the person at the door to try to help me. If the deed was begun, it was to be finished. You kept knocking; finally I went to see what was wanted. You would not leave ; you had to be invited in. Then something you said caused me to change my mind.’ “ ‘Something I said!’ I cried. ‘And I was sure I had been a failure. What did I say ?’ “ ‘You told me, among other things, never to do a thing for which I would feel sorry. A fter thinking over the mat ter, I decided that the risk a suicide took was far too great. From that moment until I surrendered to Him today, the Lord has been drawing me to Him.’ ” “ Why did-she want to take her own life?” asked one o f the girls. “ She had been reading many books that attacked and misrepresented Christianity and had become a so-called infidel; but the belief did not bring her happiness or the things that make for peace. Frances was intelligent and ambitious, but as her mother was dead, she saw no chance for making her dreams come true; so, at the age o f seven teen, rather than be a miserable nothing and face conditions that confronted her, she had decided to end it all.” ' “ What became o f her ? Did she really make good'?” asked a girl who was known to have expressed skeptical opinions. “ Yes, she went to the top o f the ladder. It was a hard climb, but prayer helped to bring achievement.” “ Tell us how she started,” urged a bright-faced young ster, a girl, who, for lack o f money, was questioning the pos sibility o f receiving necessary training for Christian service. “ Frances grew as rapidly as most young Christians, and all went well until my husband was moved to another pastorate. To leave her without an experienced guide was not wise. She wanted to associate with those who had
jL ¿ o w for thrills ,” animatedly announced vivacious Esther Collins, one of our former summer camp enthusi asts, as she finished finding chairs and floor pillows for the group o f serious-minded high school girls which had assem bled in the large, attractive parlor of the long, low lodge. The crowd had gathered for the purpose o f hearing o f the definite manner in which God, in their day, hears and an swers prayer. A fter a song and earnest petitions for vision and guidance, I began: “ One wet September afternoon while my husband was the pastor of the church in B-------, Illinois, I earnestly prayed that I would be definitely led to some needy girl who would accept Christ as her Saviour. Very distinctly do I recall that I promised to remain true, no matter what the test should be. Finally a sweet peace filled my being. To me, it was the assurance that God had heard and would answer. “ It was not, however, until the following January that anything happened to make me know that the Heavenly Father was working in a special way in the matter. One morning, while I was sweeping, the Lord laid it on my heart to call upon a certain girl—we shall call her Frances Higgins. “ Immediately a battle was on. Frances was cold, skep tical, and difficult to approach. It was not easy to believe that she was the one needing my help. And to make the situation more puzzling, all manner o f fears and doubts took possession o f me. I had prayed for a special message, but as nothing had come to me by the time the Higgins’ front gate was reached, it was easy to pass on. In a home just one block down the street, Bernice White welcomed m e; the most comfortable chair in the pleasant living room was pushed forward. I sat down, but immediately arose. Something was terribly wrong. I knew I must leave, and leave at once. Promising a return visit soon, I hurried back to the home o f Frances. “ Still perplexed, and not knowing what to say to the reticent Frances, I knocked, but there was no answer. But remembering that the mission was an urgent one, I knocked again and .again, each knock sounding louder and longer than the previous one. Finally footsteps sounded in the narrow hall; the key turned, the door slowly opened, and there stood the embarrassed Frances. “ She waited to know what was wanted. I waited for an invitation to enter the house. Presently the reluctant invitation was extended. For more than an hour, I hon estly tried to think o f something helpful about which to
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