Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

The Children'sCorner^ffTRUDY'S SECRETby Bernice Callaway, Three Hills, AlbertaTrudy plumped up the four pillows behind her andtucked the woolly blanket around her feet. "Daddy will bewondering why I haven't written to him," she said pickingup her pencil and paper. "I'd better doit right now."Dear Daddy: she began. I'm sorry to be so longwriting to you but I've had a bad cough. Grandma ismaking me stay in bed today. I have something to tell you.It's really a secret. But I'm afraid I have to tell yousomething else first that isn't very nice.I'll tell that partfirst and getit over with. ThenI'll tell you the secret. OK?Last Saturday I went over to Murphy's to play withAnna. She was showing me her room and all her prettythings. Then I saw her red necklace. It was just the colorof the new dress you bought me and oh! I wishedit wasmine. I'm sorry to have to tell you that when Anna randownstairs for a minute I scoopedit up and putit deep intomy pocket.That night when Grandpa and Grandma and I kneltdown to pray, I just choked up. I pretended my cold wastoo bad to pray and went to bed early. Grandma cameupstairs with some nice-tasting cough syrup and was sokind I felt very, very mean. But I still wanted to keep thatnecklace. Isn'tit awful how wicked you can be inside andnobody know it — 'cept God, of course.I didn't sleep very well that night and woke up withwhat felt like a big lump in my tummy. At first I wonderedwhat was wrong. Then I remembered. Oh Daddy, then Iwished that red necklace was back on Anna's dresser. Ithought of slippingit into her coat pocket at school whenshe wasn't looking. Then I remembered what you told meabout having to sin more to cover up the first sin and thatmade me feel even worse. I wanted to get rid of thenecklace now but I didn't want anybody to know what awicked girl I was.When I should have been doing math I kept hearingthe verse, "Be sure your sin will find you out." It was ahorrid day and when I trudged home from school that lootfelt heavy in my pocket. I was beginning to hate the sightofit by now.Right after supper I excused myself and went to bed.Soon I heard Gramps coming up the stairs. You can tellit's him by the way he hum-de-dums to himself. Ipretended to be asleep and he sat there quietly for awhile.Then he said, "Come on, Puss, tell Grandpa all about it."I thought he would just think I was lonesome for youand feel sorry for me. Daddy, does God tell GrandpaDaddys when their children have been naughty?Right then, for the first time in my whole life I wasvery sorry for my sin. I wanted to get rid of all my sins, notjust the necklace. Then before I knew it I was spillingthe whole nasty story to Gramps. Isn'tit a good thing Ihave a Grandpa who loves Jesus and could help me?You know how I've always been so stubborn. I'venever wanted to let the Lord Jesus have every bit of me,but that night I did. I still do. I cried hard, but Grandpasaid to just tell the Lord the truth about myself. I did, butwasn't very nice to hear — 'course God wasn't surprised'cuz He knewit all the time. I asked Him to forgive meallmy sin and help me to want always to obey Him and myparents and grandparents. Grandpa took my Bible andunderlined a verse that is mine 'specially now: "If weconfess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us oursins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John1:9).The next part was very hard. I didn't see how I coulddoit but Grandpa helped me. He took me over to Murphy'sthat night and I told Anna what I had done. I felt like areally truly criminal standing there confessing that I wasa thief. But whenit was all over I was so happy.So now this is my secret. At last, I'm not only yourchild, but God's child, too. Gramps saysit really isn't asecret because he can tell I'm God's child by the way Ihelp Grandma now without grumbling. Are you glad?Love, Trudy.P.S. — I nearly forgot. Coming home from Anna's Isaid to Grandpa, "You'll have to punish me now, won'tyou?"Gramps walked on a while looking up at the twinklingstars, then said, "Has God forgiven you?"Well, I knew He had."Well then, so has Anna and so have I. We are goingto forget all about it."I felt so good inside I could have jumped for joy. Butthen I thought out loud, "God won't forget, will He?""He has forgotten aboutit already," he said, givingmy hand an extra squeeze.That puzzled me. A God so great as our God couldforgive but how could He ever forget? Then Grandpa saidthis.I'll never forget it: "God makes Himself forget."I'm so glad now, Daddy, that God has forgiven meforall my sins and makes Himself forget them, too. Aren'tyou?The Shantyman10 COVENANTER WITNESS