As a reader of Present Truth, I would like to ask you a question. A year ago I had a very severe illness, which brought me so low that I was given up to die; I recovered from it, but it has left me in a very melancholy way. I have no energy. I have nine children, and it is hard to feel as I do. The question I want to ask is this:
What would a Christian woman do under the circumstances? Is my family my first care? I want to serve the Lord; but how can I serve Him? Will you be my friend, and tell me, if you can? I forgot to say that I have such low, miserable thoughts; no ambition for anything. Is it right that I should allow such miserable thoughts in my mind?
With some variation in the number of children, that letter might have been written by any one of hundreds of women. It is a pitiful call for help; but there is help.
It must be recognized, however, that as the bodily condition has reacted on the mind, to produce a low grade of thought, so if the thoughts are ever elevated, it must be largely by improving the physical condition. Just what steps to take to do this cannot be told without a more definite knowledge of the previous illness, and what led to it, the present condition, and especially the habits of life.
A mother's first duty is undoubtedly to her family. Just as God, who has given us life, lives for us, so she must live for those to whom she has given life, and must give herself to them. But this means that she must have something to give to them, that she must always be receiving, in order always to be able to give herself; that she must actually live for them, and not wear herself out.
A mother's first duty to her family is to take care of herself. But God who gave her the children, is the living God, and His one great gift is life; moreover He provides special help for those who have special need; so you may enjoy just as much life from the Lord as you will accept. But you must have your eyes open to see how His life is manifested.
It is safe to say that you use tea, that cheat that robs so many women of their strength, while making them believe that it gives them strength. Tea is not food, but poison; it stimulates, but does not strengthen; it does not build up, but wears down. The only good thing about a cup of tea is the water with which it is made. If the cup of hot water were taken at a proper time, minus the tea, it would be a real refreshment, helping to cleanse the system from the poisons produced by overwork.
If I am right in my supposition that you use tea, I have only to say, Leave it off, and do it at once. Take a rest for a day or two, if necessary, and take light, simple food, and your system will soon become accustomed to the change, and you will find yourself emancipated. You can drink hot water, either with or without milk, or, better still, hot gluten gruel; but do not drink anything at mealtime.
Eat preferably dry food, such as will require long mastication. An occasional meal of fruit alone, or better still, fruit alone for an entire day or two, will do wonders toward clearing out your clogged system. Do not take late suppers,--better no supper at all,--but if anything is taken in the evening let it be some plain fruit, not that indigestible compound of fruit and sugar, called jam.
The feeling that most people mistake for hunger in the evening is usually simple weariness, the call for rest, and not food. An already overworked stomach, or sluggish bowels will produce a sensation like hunger; but to take food is the worst thing that could be done in that state. Relieve the overloaded bowels; bathe the irritated nerves of the stomach with a draught of either hot or cold water, which will cleanse away the poison that is causing them to cry out; and in most cases the feeling of hunger will be gone, and both body and mid will be refreshed.
I have given only the very simplest directions, such as can be easily followed, for bringing the body out of its low, depressed state. Much more would be necessary for perfection; but this may do for a beginning. The sum of the matter is, Let the life of the Lord, fresh as it comes from His throne, have unobstructed course, and health and vigor must return.
You want to serve the Lord. Good! He wants you to serve Him, and when you two are thus agreed nothing can hinder you. But remember that "your reasonable service [is to] present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." (Romans 12:1)
You can do no greater service to God than simply to let His life be manifested in your mortal flesh, so that through you those who see you may know His power. You do not need to go away from your own home in order to serve God acceptably.
Who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best: His state
Is Kingly; thousands at His bidding speed
And post o'er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve, who only stand and wait.
--John Milton, Sonnet: On His Blindness.
But a mother of nine children has a more promising field for service than is granted to most people. How many ministers of the Gospel, do you suppose, are sure that they have been the means of bringing nine souls into the kingdom of God? Many go to foreign lands at great expense, and undergo the greatest hardships, to accomplish even less. Judson labored nine years in Burma before he saw a single conversion. The missionary knows not what may be the result of his work; but a mother has souls committed to her care, of whose salvation she may be as sure, as that they have been given her. "The promise is to you, and to your children." (Acts 2:39)
You may, and should, lay hold on life, that you may have fullness of life to give.
But you must be of good courage. You think that this is very easy for me to say, and that it is almost mockery to one in your condition. One in your state is just the one to whom it must be said. It would be mockery, if your courage had to come from yourself; but the source and ground of courage is the eternal, omnipotent, loving God. Your weakness is no bar whatever to the working of God; on the contrary, it gives Him an opportunity to show His power to the best advantage. He deliberately chooses the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty. (1 Corinthians 1:27)
Your unfavorable circumstances have nothing whatever to do with the case, and are not to be taken into consideration. You have only to think upon the love and power of God. Difficulties only provide a way by which He can lead His ransomed ones to victory. He says to you as to Joshua, "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage." (Joshua 1:9)
I say this deliberately, that to a person who believes in the promises and the power of God, there can be no greater blessing than to have burdens greater than he feels able to bear, and to be placed in a position where he cannot see any way out. The Lord is hunting for just such ones, to help them. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)
And it is nothing for Him to help, "whether with many, or with them that have no power." (2 Chronicles 14:11)
Of course it is not right for you or anybody else to have such low, miserable thoughts; and it is not necessary. When you yield your body "a living sacrifice ... to God," (Romans 12:1) for Him to manifest His life in it, you will be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) "Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established." (Proverbs 16:3)
And now I want to ask you to read the first article in this number of Present Truth, [This article was titled, "The Taking of a City," and can be found in the collection, Gospel Lessons in the Old Testament] for it all applies to such as you. Believe that the mighty God of Israel lives, and that you are one of His children; "Trust in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength;" (Isaiah 26:4) and you will find yourself lifted up out of the horrible pit and the miry clay, and your feet set on the rock, and a new song in your mouth, (Psalm 40:2-3) which will be,--"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:2-5)--Present Truth, October 9, 1902.