We did not hasten to meet Him, but remained as we were until He reached our side; and then we sank upon our knees before Him, silently. God knows what gain we had for the life that we had lost below. The pure eyes of the Master sought us with a benignity from which we thanked the Infinite Mercy that our own had not need to droop ashamed. What weak, earthly comfort could have been worth the loss of a moment such as this? He blesses us. With His sacred hands He blesses us, and by His blessing lifts our human love into so divine a thing that this seems the only life in which it could have breathed.
By-and-by, when our Lord has left us, we join hands like children, and walk quietly through the dazzling air, across the field, and up the hill, and up the road, and home. I seek my mother, trembling, and clasp her, sinking on my knees, until I hide my face upon her lap. Her hands stray across my hair and cheek.
“What is the matter, Mary?—dear Mary!”
“Oh, Mother, I have Heaven in my heart at last!”
“Tell me all about it, my poor child. Hush! There, there! my dear!”
“Your poor child? ... Mother! What can you mean?”—
What can she mean, indeed? I turn and gaze into her eyes. My face was hidden in her lap. Her hands stray across my hair and cheek.
“What is the matter, Mary?—dear Mary!”
“Oh, Mother, I have Heaven in my heart at last!”
“Tell me all about it, my poor child. Hush! There, there! my dear!”