My patient was a young woman, perhaps thirty-one years of age, and extremely nervous. The first night as I was preparing her for sleep I wondered whether I should ask her if I might pray, but fearing that she would refuse, I just bowed my head and began to pray. There was no response of any kind, and I wondered whether I had made a mistake. The next night I felt impressed to pray with her again. This time, as I began, a hand groped out to find mine, and I felt her clutching my hand tightly while I prayed. Then I knew that I was on the right track.
The following day I asked her whether she would like to have me read a bit from a little book that was lying on the bedside table. "No, Mrs. Nordberg, I don't think I would," she answered hastily. The next day I somehow felt impressed to open the book and read a bit from it without asking her consent. I read the first chapter in the little book Steps to Christ, and she made no definite objection. So each day I read a bit out of this and other small books. As the days slipped by she seemed glad to have me read these brief portions to her, and we had many lengthy visits together.
The first week she seemed very despondent, and told me she knew that she was losing her mind. "Mrs. Nordberg," she said, "I know why I'm here. God sent me here to get what I need. I know what God wants me to do, and I'm not doing it."
"Young lady," I interrupted, "get that out of your head right this minute. If you were losing your mind, you wouldn't even be worried about it. The people who are losing their minds think everyone else is, but not they." Later she told me that was the first thing she had gotten hold of that she could cling to. It seemed to give her the encouragement she needed to keep on.
Late one night she called me to her bedside and in a frightened whisper told me that she feared she had committed the unpardonable sin. "Now listen to me ! If you had done that, you would not even be worried about it. People who have, don't even care," I told her. "So long as you care so very much, you can know that God loves you even much more, and is right here by your side to help you beat back the power of the evil one from your side. Let us pray now that you may never grieve the Holy Spirit from your side."
A little at a time my patient improved, and became well enough to return to her home about six weeks later. She and her husband had a lovely home, and he had a thriving business. Their life consisted of night clubs two or three times a week, theater parties, dancing, card parties, movies, smoking, drinking, and other worldly amusements. One by one this fine young couple laid aside these wrong habits and worldly entertainment, until at last they had only their diamonds and jewelry to give up. And by New Year's last year they had given these up also.
It was a long, hard decision, but they finally decided to sell the business and move to the country, where he had some land near his father's. But they had their home and business up for sale for some time without results. I told them not to worry, for God would send a buyer when He saw fit. They had intended to wait until they moved to the country before they took the final step of baptism; but when they realized that it would look as if they were running away to do it in secret, and that they could perhaps be an influence for good before their old friends and acquaintances if they would be baptized there, they made their final decision and were baptized about the latter part of April.
I visited them at their new little home in the country some months later. What a thrill it was to see their joy in the Lord, and to find that their little twelve-year-old girl is planning to be baptized too.
