I find myself today reading the Life and Writings of Mrs. Jane Dawson of Lancaster. I skipped across this because of my weekly time with my dear friend John Newton. My heart is warmed by reading the account of Jane Flower (later to be Mrs. Dawson). Her letter to her parents at the age of 11 is astonishing and one that in our times we would expect to come from the pen of perhaps a college student. I am further blown away by the dying poem of her little brother George.
At 9 and a half years old a dying George quipped these words to his mother:
Christ is my portion and my all,
I need not fear, I shall not fall;
Nor need I fear what all the world can do,
Since Christ can fight and make—subdue.
He’s not repeating a song, mind you. He made that up moments before his death. “Even your young men shall see visions…” It’s amazing to see the work of the Spirit in the 1700’s Comforting and Guiding these little children. This is encouraging me to pray for an outpouring of God’s favor and grace upon my children that they might see the beauty of Christ and live solely for His glory.
