"Yes, little wife," he said, "the Lord never overlooks or forgets any self-denial for His name's sake. You chose His love, His favour, His smile, in preference to an earthly affection; you chose to forsake an earthly love for His sake, and He did not forget it. I am sure those words of our Lord's are true, May:
"'There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands' (in short, anything dear to his heart), for My sake, but he shall receive an hundredfold in this present time;' or, as another Gospel has it, 'manifold more in this present time.'"
"I have indeed received the hundredfold, Howard," I said.
"And then that is not the end," he said, "for, after all, the second part of the promise makes the first part sink into insignificance.
"'And, in the world to come, life everlasting.'
"Yes, May, there is a brighter home in prospect. Earth's homes, the dearest and best, are only for a time—Heaven's homes are for an eternity. I came across a verse to-day, which I thought very beautiful:
"'What joys are lost, what promises are given,
As through this death-struck world we roam
Awhile we think that Home is Heaven,
At last we find that HEAVEN is HOME.'"
"And we shall be together there, Howard," I said, "with no fear of separation."
"Yes, thank God!" he answered. "This bright little earthly home is to us a faint foreshadowing of our heavenly home, where we shall be together with the Lord."
"Yes," I said, "a happy, earthly home now, in this present time, and a brighter, more glorious home awaiting me above, to be mine throughout eternity. Was I not indeed right in my choice?"