I do not know whether Alice had ever thought of not getting better, but
long before her illness, when she was strong and well, she had come to
the Lord Jesus Christ--and now He was her Saviour and Friend, so that her
father was not afraid to tell her that she was going to Him. This is what
she said, as soon as he had told her:
"Dear father, I am not afraid to go. How I thank you for telling me." Then,
when the tears came at the sight of his grief, she added, "It is only
leaving you all; but Jesus will be there. What should I do without my
Saviour now?"
From this time Alice very often spoke, about dying, but she always called
it "going home." It was very soon after her father had told her, that she
said to her mother those sweet words which came to my mind when we were
speaking of the little spider making quite sure that his threads were
strong, with no weak place anywhere.
"I feel just like a sailor," Alice said. "When he is called to go aloft, he
tries all the ropes to see if they are firm. I have been trying them all,
and, mother, they are all right."
Another time, when someone said, "You always looked happy, Alice," she
smiled and said, "Yes, but I am happier now." And when he asked, "Have you
no fear whatever?" she replied, "None whatever."
But had this always been so? Ah! no. It is true that she had always been a
loving child, and had many bright ways about her which made people fond of
her, so that it was no trouble to her to win love from all around her; but
Alice had a very strong will, and liked to do just as she pleased, and as
she grew up she often showed that she was indeed far away from God, and
one of those "lost sheep" whom the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to
"seek and to save.
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