A Portrait Painted

It was 1898 and Ben had left the East 8 years ago to head out West in hopes of making his fortune.  Well he wasn't rich, but he had accumulated over 300 acres of good land and built a comfortable farm house on it.  He raised wheat, corn, and all of his vegetables.  He had managed to build his herd of cattle to over 200 head.  Having accomplished all of this in only 8 years, he decided that it was now time. 

The ad that he placed in the New York newspaper said, "Wanted:  A good woman willing to be a pen pal.  Marriage is a possibility for the right woman."  Before long, he began receiving letters from Molly.  Their correspondence soon turned into love for each other.  Now, here he stood in the Kansas City train station waiting to finally meet her.

When the train arrived, there were a lot of women getting off.  Suddenly, he yelled, "Molly -- over here!"

She looked his way, walked over to him, smiled and held out her hand.  He took it for a moment, then let it go. She said, "How did you know who I was?"

He then reached into the back pocket of his overalls and said, "From these here letters."

"But there are no pictures in them."

He dropped his head a bit and said, "Oh yes there are!  There are lots of pictures in your words."  You see, he had spent hours reading every word -- looking for every little clue that would tell him who Molly really was.  He had fallen in love with her words -- words that had painted her portrait. 

God's precious word paints a vivid portrait of who he is.  We as his bride should fall in love with his word so that we can then fall in love with its author.

From: Many A Tear Has To Fall by Wayne Hudson, Padon Press