Chapter 29—Reclaiming the Lost
After we had reached our home, we felt most sensibly the wearing
labors of our Eastern tour. Many were urging me by letter to write
what I had related to them of what the Lord had shown me concerning
them. And there were many others to whom I had not spoken, whose
cases were important and urgent. In my weary condition the task of
so much writing seemed more than I could endure, and I called in
question my duty to write so much, to so many persons, some of them
very unworthy. It seemed to me that there was certainly a mistake in
this matter somewhere.
An Encouraging Dream
One night I dreamed that a person brought to me a web of white
cloth, and bade me cut it into garments for persons of all sizes and all
descriptions of character and circumstances in life. I was told to cut
them out and hang them up all ready to be made when called for. I
had the impression that many for whom I was required to cut garments
were unworthy. I inquired if that was the last piece of cloth I should
have to cut, and was told that it was not; that as soon as I had finished
this one, there were others for me to take hold of.
I felt discouraged at the amount of work before me, and stated that
I had been engaged in cutting garments for others for more than twenty
years, and my labors had not been appreciated, neither did I see that
my work had accomplished much good. I spoke to the person who
brought the cloth to me, of one woman in particular, for whom he had
told me to cut a garment. I stated that she would not prize the garment,
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and that it would be a loss of time and material to present it to her. She
was very poor, of inferior intellect, and untidy in her habits, and would
soon soil it.
The person replied: “Cut out the garments; that is your duty. The
loss is not yours, but mine. God sees not as man sees. He lays out
the work that He would have done, and you do not know which will
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