1968 Second St., San Diego Cal., April 26, 1897.
Beloved Mother, Leader, Teacher:— To remain longer silent would indeed seem ungrateful when I realize, even in a small measure, the magnitude of the blessing which your precious New Book has brought to me.
Truly indeed, "Miscellaneous Writings" comes alike to the Christian Science practitioner and the seeker for the Christ-healing with that loving admonition, that gentle but firm rebuke for past failures and poorly wrought work, and that earnest pleading for a purer Christianity which alone can bring to suffering humanity the full salvation which fits for heaven, the clear elucidation of the multitude of questions confronting the seeker, and calling for wisdom and discretion to judiciously meet. How fully the great need of the present hour is met in this your divinely directed gift to the world, and especially to us who have already felt the spiritual touch, and healing, cleansing power of the Truth you have so bravely dared to speak, teach, and demonstrate, —the precious fruits of the harvest of future months and years alone can answer. I apprehend it is only in the unfolding of that which the present sense of need does not yet embrace that we shall see clearly what our need was, and how truly has been fulfilled the words of the Master: "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matt. 6:8); and also the words of Paul, Rom. 8: 26: "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought." How faintly have we apprehended the mighty import of the words of our daily prayer: "May Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done," and failed to discern its fulfilment when it came! Truly "God's ways are not our ways," and how prone we are to look for the answer to our prayer in some blessing we are not yet fitted to receive. Yes, dear Mother, the hope of years of patient waiting, to sit at your feet and hear from your own lips the inspired words of Truth, seems in a great degree to have been fulfilled in this, your message of love. Never before have I felt such a sense of nearness, and of having had personal audience with you, as in the study of some of the topics you have so fully made plain, in words so fittingly chosen to meet my individual need. More and more clearly I can see how your books and the Bible are the impersonal Teacher of the present hour, and the year of silent preparation, contemplation, and demonstration of our mission as Christian Scientists which you have admonished us to observe, I can but feel, is indeed a season of golden opportunity wherein greater lessons than we have yet learned are to be gleaned from the sacred pages of these books.
