'Catherine—you—you mean that Christ is the Great Physician!'
'Yes, dear. When from the eternal heavens you look back upon your life of pain and weariness on earth, it will seem but as a fleeting hour, and you will wonder why you couldn't understand God's loving promises better while you lived,—why you grumbled at the moments of suffering which His compassion sent you to purify your soul from sin, to prevent your caring too much for the things of this earth. Why, Agatha, don't we despise a little child who cries and storms about some momentary, necessary pain? Yet we all of us behave just as weakly before the eyes of our Father.'
'But I shan't ever get to heaven. I'm not good.'
'Jesus came on earth to save sinners. Remember how we are told, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing." Tell me, is that a picture of a cruel God? of One who does not feel for the weakness and perversity of human nature? Oh, my dearie, think over those three words only, "He will save," and offer Him your heart, with all its imperfect longings. He is the Saviour who "pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by transgression," who "retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy."'
Agatha's dark eyes gazed wonderingly at Catherine's sweet, smiling face.
'I—I will think about Him,' she whispered after a pause. 'But, oh, do come again to-morrow if you can. Guardian doesn't talk about God as clearly as you do; he's groping after Him still, Catherine, but you speak and look just as though you'd been to heaven yourself, and seen Him face to face!'
'So may we all see Him, dear,—in the blessings of earth, in daisies, and sunsets, and storms; in love, and humility, and suffering. For heaven is where He is, and He is everywhere! I shall pray that you may receive Him into your heart, and so make heaven there, little Agatha.'