His Messenger
Chapter 14—Carrying the Message
“Will you not come and live in part of our house?” Stockbridge Howland said to James White. “Some of the other Sabbathkeepers here in Topsham have a little furniture to spare. We would like to have you and Mrs. White come and be with us.” HMes 73.1
Gladly James and Ellen White accepted this generous offer. They had a new responsibility now, since a little son, Henry, had been born to them. Although they spent nearly all their time traveling, visiting, and teaching the people, still, with their little boy, they needed a place to call home. In the house of the Howlands they were comfortable, though their home was far from elegant. HMes 73.2
James White had a courageous, independent spirit. God had called him to the work of the ministry and had sent messages to him telling of the work that he must do in teaching the Bible to others. But even so, James White still felt that he must support his family and not call upon others to help. There were many who had money who would have helped had they known the need in the family, but James and Ellen White carried their responsibility without telling others of their needs. HMes 73.3
Constantly calls were sent asking Mr. and Mrs. White to come and preach to some little company of believers that were hungry to hear the Bible truths. The faithful workers answered all the calls they could, but soon letters began to come asking them to go to other States and hold meetings. They had no money to pay their fare, and Mrs. White felt that it was impossible for her to travel with her small baby. They sent word to the little companies that were calling for meetings that the way was not open for them to come. HMes 73.4
That winter, money was very scarce in the humble home of James White. In these early times there was no regular plan for supporting our ministers. One day, when all the food in the house was gone, he walked three miles in the rain to get some money that was due him for labor, and to buy some food. But the man for whom he had worked could give him only a little money, and so Mr. White could not buy much food to take home. He bought a few beans, a little meal and rice, and a few pounds of flour. He put these in a bag and carried them on his back. On his way home he passed through the town of Brunswick, where a few years before he had held meetings, and was known as a preacher. One might think that he would be ashamed and hurt to be seen going through the street with this load. But he was not downhearted. He entered his home courageously singing, “I’m a pilgrim, and I’m a stranger.” HMes 74.1
His poor wife, however, could not feel so cheerful at first. She was shocked to think that he had been able to draw so little money from his employer and could bring home so little food. HMes 74.2
“Has it come to this? Has God forsaken us?” she said. HMes 74.3
Mr. White lifted his hand and said, “Hush, the Lord has not forsaken us. He gives us enough for our present wants. Jesus fared no better.” Then Mrs. White was sorry that she had shown her discouragement. “Yes,” she answered. “And sufferings and trials bring us near to Jesus. The Lord is trying us for our own good. He is stirring up our nest, lest we settle down at ease. Our work is to labor for souls.” HMes 74.4
In a few days little Henry was taken ill, and rapidly grew worse. The mother and father were much alarmed as they saw their baby lying unconscious, with his breathing quick and heavy. They tried all the remedies that they knew, but he still grew worse. They then called in a nurse, who said that she did not think the baby would get well. They had prayer for him, but still there was no change for the better. The mother then realized that she had made the child an excuse for not traveling and laboring for the good of others as much as they had been called to do. Again they knelt and prayed for the life of their little son, promising God that if He would heal the child, they would go wherever they were needed, trusting in Him always. HMes 75.1
They prayed earnestly until they felt that a light from heaven was shining upon them, and from that hour the child began to recover. HMes 75.2
“Can you not come and hold a meeting with us in Connecticut?” came a call one day. HMes 75.3
Although they had no money on hand to pay the fare, and hardly enough to buy the food they needed, Mr. White replied, “Yes, we will come.” He thought they might save the money to pay the fare out of what he would earn. He was then cutting wood for only twenty-five cents a cord. To make it seem still harder, he developed rheumatism, and night after night he was unable to sleep because of the pain. He and his wife both prayed faithfully that God would relieve the pain and give him strength to work; and God did bless him, for he was able to keep on working. HMes 75.4
“Wife,” said Mr. White, “we must keep five dollars on hand, and even if we get short of food, we must not use that.” HMes 75.5
Sometimes they felt the lack of food, but still they were determined to save the money for the fare. When Mr. White came to settle with his employer, he had ten dollars left. With this they purchased their tickets and a little necessary clothing to make the journey to Connecticut. HMes 75.6
After the meetings were over, they remained in Connecticut for a while, and Mr. White looked about for some way to earn money with which to buy needed food and clothing and other necessary supplies. HMes 77.1
He was offered work in the harvest field cutting grain, and although it was harder work than he was accustomed to, he started in at once. HMes 77.2
James White had suffered an injury that made it hard for him to do work which required much walking. When he was just a young man, he was cutting heavy timber, when the ax slipped and severed a piece of his ankle bone. The tendons had grown stiff, and he had not been able to bear his weight upon the heel of his right foot for years. HMes 77.3
When Mr. White went to the field to work, he found that there were several other men working there who were rough and irreligious. They did not like the idea of having a preacher working with them. HMes 77.4
“He’s not used to this hard work,” one of the men said. “Let’s run him down and drive him from the field.” HMes 77.5
Of course, James White did not know of their feelings, but he himself realized that this heavy work was too hard for him. Before he had gone into the field he had prayed that God would give him the strength to do the work and earn the money. HMes 77.6
When he entered the field, the men all waited to start the work together. They each were given a long scythe and were told to cut a swath across the field. They were to work, one following the other, so that each would begin his strip of grain where the other left off. The men put the minister in the lead. This was the hardest place, for the leader had to keep ahead of all the others and set the pace for the mowers. HMes 77.7
Mr. White cut a wide swath, and swung his scythe as fast as he could. The other men who followed him took narrower swaths, and kept as close to him as possible. When Mr. White felt them crowding behind him, he tried to work even faster than he had before. Across the wide field they all worked. At the far end, after a short rest, they turned and started back, with the minister still ahead of the men. When they reached the starting place, the men threw down their scythes. HMes 78.1
“White,” their leader said, “do you mean to kill yourself and us? We give up this trial. We thought you were a minister, and could not know by experience how to handle a scythe, but we give you the credit of being far ahead of us and the best mower we ever saw.” HMes 78.2
“And you have taken no beer or liquor this hot day,” added another of the rough men. HMes 78.3
“When you came into this field as a worker, we were angry,” went on the leader. “We didn’t want a minister in our company, and we agreed to give you the hardest place. You have gone steadily on, and we have had to give up. We crown you as a leader and a captain in the field.” HMes 78.4
Mr. White quietly thanked them for the compliment, but he felt that he had One to thank whom they did not love, trust, or serve—the God of heaven. HMes 78.5
That day’s work proved to be a blessing in more ways than one. It broke down the prejudice of the men of the neighborhood that they had felt toward him because he was a minister, and the severe strain of working so hard in the heat of the day relaxed the tendons of his ankle, and he found himself bringing his heel down squarely on the ground. After this he stepped so firmly no one would ever imagine he had walked with a limp for many years. A few weeks later an urgent invitation came for Mr. and Mrs. White to go to New York and hold a series of meetings among the believers. HMes 78.6
“What can we do?” Ellen White asked her husband. “We have no money to pay our fare to New York.” Together they prayed that God would open the way. HMes 79.1
“I know what I will do,” exclaimed James White, after they had finished praying. “I’ll buy a scythe and work again in the harvest field. I can earn enough money there to take us to the meeting.” This time he worked with Adventist neighbors, and during the next few weeks earned forty dollars, which was used in making the trip to New York to attend the meetings. HMes 79.2
At another time a letter came bearing an invitation for them to go to a general meeting that was to be held in a distant town, and again they had no money. When Mr. White went back to the post office he found a letter containing five dollars. He hurried home, and together they knelt and offered a prayer of thanksgiving. Then they started on the journey. HMes 79.3
Together Mr. and Mrs. White traveled from place to place, even during the winter. Sometimes they took their little son with them, but much of the time they left him at home. The eldest daughter of the Howlands took upon herself the responsibility of caring for him, and as he grew older, she cared for him almost constantly. HMes 79.4
Edson, the second son, was born in 1849. He was only a few weeks old when his mother began taking him with her on her trips to visit the groups of Sabbathkeepers. HMes 79.5
Ellen White was especially led to visit the small companies of Sabbathkeepers who were just learning to serve the Lord. She was often directed by a vision to visit where her work was especially needed. Sometimes she would mention a certain little church to her husband, and say, “James, in the night I was bearing testimony to that company. I know the people there need help, and we must visit them.” When they would arrive at the meetinghouse, some of the company would come forward and greet them, saying, “You have come at just the right time.” HMes 79.6
When Edson was a few months old, his mother left him with some friends, who were very kind to the baby. Although the children were well cared for, it was hard for these young parents to leave their little sons. Sometimes they would not see them for weeks at a time. HMes 80.1
“Recently, I had the privilege of being with my older boy two weeks,” Ellen White wrote to a friend. “He is a lovely dispositioned boy, and he became so attached to his mother it was hard to be separated from him. My other little one is many hundreds of miles from me.” HMes 80.2
Many people whom they visited did not realize what it meant to this mother to be separated from her children. Once when the Whites had just completed a long journey and were tired out, they stopped at the home of one of the believers. In the morning Mrs. White felt that she could no longer stand to be away from her children. She especially missed her baby, who was only nine months old. With tears she prayed that God would watch over her little sons, and make her willing to sacrifice the pleasure of being with them, for the cause of God. HMes 80.3
When she went downstairs, the woman with whom she was staying greeted her. “It must be very pleasant to be riding through the country with nothing to trouble you,” the woman said to her guest. “It is just such a life as I would delight in.” HMes 80.4
“Is this what everyone thinks?” thought the poor, lonesome mother. “No one has the least idea of the self-denial and sacrifice required to travel from place to place, often meeting cold hearts, distant looks, and severe speeches, while my heart is yearning for my home and my little ones.” HMes 80.5
The next day they started on to another appointment. In the train Mrs. White was so weak and ill that she could not sit up, and her husband made a bed on the seats of the car for her. She lay down with aching head and heart. The lack of sympathy from the believers was hard for her to bear. HMes 80.6
“It doesn’t pay!” she said to herself that night. “So much labor to accomplish so little.” Soon she fell asleep and dreamed that a tall angel stood by her side. HMes 81.1
“Why are you sad?” he questioned. HMes 81.2
“I can do so little good,” she told him. “Why may we not be with our children, and enjoy their company?” HMes 81.3
“You have given to the Lord two beautiful flowers,” the angel said gently, “the fragrance of which is as sweet incense before Him, and is more precious in His sight than gold or silver, for it is a heart gift. It draws upon every fiber of the heart as no other sacrifice can. HMes 81.4
“The path shall brighten before you,” he continued. “Every self-denial, every sacrifice, is faithfully recorded and will bring its reward.” HMes 81.5