A Poignant Letter Received

Reproduced from the December 1978 edition of the Wicket Gate Magazine.

Dear Friends,

It has never been our practice to reproduce letters that have been received over the years in connection with the Wicket Gate or under other circumstances. A countless number of these letters have been of the highest spiritual tone, and have given a great deal of encouragement to us both personally and as a church of the Lord's people. This month, however, I want to share the contents of a letter recently received. It comes from a young woman now bereft of her husband and endeavouring to face the event in the light of God's love and truth to her heart and mind. We have already read the letter in the prayer meeting of the church, and due to the fact of its sentiments finding such an echo in all our hearts, we thought it fitting to make it available to a wider circle.

The young man in question was engaged in the work of the gospel for some years. He was the father of a severely handicapped child and eventually was overtaken himself by a severe illness which left him almost completely incapacitated, finally resulting in blindness.

From that background, the young widow writes, and we feel, her letter has something to say to us.

Dear Mr Seaton,

"Many thanks for continuing to send the Wicket Gate. Please, could you note the new address, which is only temporary - as yet I have no permanent new home. I also want to let you know that my dear ...... was taken home to the Lord.

He had been failing in health for some time, and latterly was longing to go, should it not be the Lord's will to heal him. This naturally made things easier for me, but my only and sure comfort is that he is now rejoicing in the reality of all we shared together in faith. To know he is in the Lord's presence, free from all the handicaps, physical and spiritual, of this life, takes away all the sting and separation. The pain is still there, and the loneliness, but the Lord has proved Himself so able, and no matter how low I feel, He is still round about and underneath.

The children have coped remarkably well - an abundant answer to the prayers of many. They are quite content to know that Daddy is continuing life in another realm, free from pain and able to see again: indeed, they are fascinated by the thought, and all the Bible worthies he is now meeting!

I intend to remain in ......, as we have roots here, but we had to leave our previous home shortly before ...... last acute illness, and as yet are still with a dear friend who has been a tremendous support throughout this time - another of the Lord's gracious provisions. I will notify you of our new address in due course.

Please give my best wishes to your Church. How we have appreciated your fellowship very much, and ...... really enjoyed the tapes you sent him, particularly Adolphe Monod's Farewell. He loved to hear much of Christ."

I trust you share our feelings with regards to the value of the contents of that note. It ought always to be a cause of rejoicing to us to see the grace of God operative in the lives of those who profess the name of His Son in our day; this is to God's glory, and to God we would give the glory. One sentence especially makes a very real mark in our hearts: - "... my only and sure comfort is that he is now rejoicing in the reality of all we shared together in faith." God grant our sister, and all of us, to faithfully live by faith in the blessed hope and assurance of that coming reality.