A Comet and a Children’s Meeting

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; with kindness I have drawn you.” — from Jeremiah 31

When Amy was about twelve, her parents sent her across the sea to a girls’ boarding school in Harrogate, a town in Yorkshire, in England. It was a long way from the seashore at home. There were bells, rules, and walks in pairs. Amy was clever, but she did not always like the rules!

In the autumn of 1882, one of the brightest comets of the century could be seen in the early morning sky. The girls wanted to see it, but they were not allowed to stay up. The story goes that Amy got a group of girls to slip out of bed and watch for it at night. When they were found out, she was very nearly sent home!

The most important thing happened in 1883, when Amy was fifteen. A children’s mission came to Harrogate. Its speakers told Bible stories, sang choruses, and talked to children about the love of Jesus as if what children thought really mattered.

Amy had known about Jesus all her life, and she had prayed since she was tiny. But at one of those meetings she understood that God’s love was for her, too, and she put her trust in Jesus for herself. She never forgot that God had reached her while she was still a child. Years later, when she cared for hundreds of children, she was sure that children can truly know and love Jesus.

Soon afterwards, Amy left school. Her father’s business was in trouble, and the family moved to the big city of Belfast.

God loved you before you ever knew it. He does not push or frighten people into loving him. He draws them gently, with kindness. And you do not have to wait until you are grown up to know him.

Dear God, thank you that you have loved me with an everlasting love. Help me to trust Jesus for myself, right now, while I am young. Amen.