Willie's Faith.


WILLIE was the only son of his parents. 

When very young, his mother began to teach 

him about God  and  Heaven,  and  his  mind 

seemed  to drink in all the sweet things she 

told him,  just as  the  flowers receive  into 

their bosoms the drops  of  dew that  give 

them strength and beauty.  Before he was 

three years old, he would often sit gazing 

into the sky, and  would  say:

"Willie's  watching  for  the  holy  angels, 

and waiting to hear them sing."

The lesson that  his mother endeavored  to 

impress most  deeply upon  his  young  heart 

was  that  of faith  in  God;  faith  in him for 

all things, and that for Jesus' sake he would 

bestow upon him all  necessary good.

When  he  was  four  years  old,  a  terrible 

shadow settled down  upon him,  and  by  the 

time Willie was seven, their home  and every- 

thing was  taken  from  them,  and  they were 

thrown  upon the  charity  of friends.  Soon 

Willie's clothes and boots began to wear out, 

but his mother was too poor to purchase new 

ones.  On one occasion he came to her, 

saying:

"Mother, can't I have some new boots? 

My toes are all out of these.  The snow gets 

in,  and I am so cold."

A tear  filled his mother's  eye  when she 

answered, "Soon,  Willie,  I  hope  to  give 

them to you."

He waited patiently several days, until 

one  morning,  as  he  stood  at  the  window 

watching the  boys trundling their hoops, he 

sobbed:

"Oh, mother, it is too hard!  Can't I get 

some boots  anywhere?"

"Yes, Willie, you can."

"I can?" he eagerly exclaimed.  "Where? 

Where?  Tell me quick!"

"Do you not  know,  my son?" replied his 

mother.  "Think now."

Willie stood for a moment, as if in deep 

thought; then, with  a  smile,  looked  up  to 

is mother's face, and said:

"Oh, I know!  God will give them to me, 

of  course.  Why didn't I think of that before? 

I'll go now and ask him" He walked 

out  of  the  parlor  into  his  mother's  room. 

She quietly followed him, and, standing    

concealed from  view, saw him kneel down, and, 

covering his face with his hands, he prayed:

"O God!  Father drinks; mother has no 

money; my feet  get cold  and wet.  I want 

some  boots.  Please send me a pair, for 

Jesus' sake.  Amen.

This was all.  He often repeated his pitiful 

little  petition,  and  the  best  of  all  was,  he 

expected  an  answer to  his  prayer.

"They'll  come, mother!" he would often 

say,  encouragingly;  "they'll come when 

God gets ready."

Within a week, a lady who dearly loved 

the child, came to  take him out walking.  He 

hesitated for a few moments; but  soon    

determined  to go, and  they started off.  At 

length the lady noticed his stockings peeping 

out  at  the  toes of his  boots,  

when  she  exclaimed:

"Why, Willie, look at your feet!  They 

will freeze.  Why didn't you put on a better 

pair of boots?"

"These are all I have, ma'am."

"All you have!  But why don't you have 

a new pair?"

"I will, just as soon as God sends them," 

he confidently replied.

Tears filled the lady's eyes, and, with a 

quivering lip, she  led  him  into  a shoe store 

near by, saying:  "There,  child, select any 

pair you  please. "The boots were soon    

selected, and  a more happy, thankful boy never 

lived.

On his return, he walked into the center 

of the  room, where  his  mother was sitting, 

and said:

"Look, mother! God has sent my boots! 

Mrs. Gray's money bought them, but God 

heard me  ask  for  them,  and  I suppose he 

told her to buy them for me."

There he stood, with an earnest, solemn 

light in his eyes, as though he were receiving 

a new baptism of faith  from  Heaven;  then 

quietly added:

"We must always remember how near God 

is to  us," and  kneeling  at  his  mother's feet, 

he said:  "Jesus,  I  thank you very much 

for my  new boots.  Please make me a good 

boy, and take  care of mother.  Amen."

Willie is now fourteen years of  age, and 

is  a  consistent  member  of  the  church  of 

Christ.  In all things he trusts  his  Saviour; 

every desire of  his  heart  he  carries directly 

to God,  and patiently waits  the  answer,  and 

it always  comes.

"Ask, and it shall be given you."  

Matthew 7:7 





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