Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-02-24
Tried and Proved-A True Story.

JEssIE's grandfather is sick, ma'am,"
said oneof nay little scholars, as inquired
after the absent Jessie.
Il am very sorry" said L; and, to
prove that I was sorry, I started bright
and early the next morning to visit Jessie
and her grandfather. l knocked at the
door Of one of their two rooms. and ths
grandfather's voice said: "Come in" /
found only Mr.. Fuller in the room; he
said he felt better, and that Jessie had
gone with her matches, IS usual.
Mr.. Fuller was a shoe member, and
near his work bench stood a little table
that held all the books he and Jessie
owned between them. / noticed that
from one of them a number of threads
were hanging, and said: "Does your
Bible need binding?"
No, MISS" said he; "those threads
all tell me something. I will tell you.'
he added. rs he saw my puzzled look.
When | was young man l was very
bad and Wild and did not care for God or
Bible; but when my poor old mother died
she had nothing to leave her hayward son
but her Bible-her marriage Bible. /
didn't care for it any more then than | did
before. But one day / found tract that
was headed Come unto me, all we that
labor and are heavy laden, and l will give
you rest l could not get those words
out of my head, and as went to my work
everything seemed to say: Come, and
rest l wasn't tired and didn't want
rest, and therefore tried to get the words
out of my head. But God wanted me to
come and so He took His own way to
bring me. A few weeks after I had found
the tract Jessie's mother died, and then
her father went off to Australia, and left
little Jessie for me to take care Of
Then was hurt so that | couldn't
walk, and still came the word, Come
At last | thought, maybe God will give
me rest from my pain, if 1 try Him. So
took the old Bible, and, strange to say,
l opened just at the very words; so |
thought, will try God and see'
"But you see, Miss, / wasn't used to
the Bible, because I had wasted all the
best years of my life, and it took long
time to find the places. So one day, as
was sewing an old shoe, thought, III
just put thread in at my verse, so that
can find it when [ want to read it and
think if God really wants me to come to
Him. for by that time I had begun to
think of my sins and wasted life. So
l put the thread in, and after that | found
many other verses, and at each one put
q thread.
" AT last really came to God with my
sins and found that he was waiting for
me. And so tried first and then proved
that the Come aoas for me; then put
knot in the end of the thread, to show
that it was proved; for my eyesight is
poor, and l can't read very well, and the
thread saves time and eyes. l have found
many other verses to try, and at each I
put thread, and, as they become clear,
and can use them and prove them, as
/ call it, | put in the knots that you see.
And God has been very good to me
and has not thrown me of for have
tried and proved Him through His Word.
There are many others just as good:
Seek and We shall find' has knot too"
Old Mr.. Fuller's way was not entirely
new to me. Tried and proved" I
thought, as / walked homeward soon
after, thinking of how he had found
Gods words so kind that they can be
tried and proved.-C'or. ". Y. Observer.