“The red of the rust blended with the red of the blood dripping down the handle of the axe, down the hand that held it and down to mingle with the dirt on the ground …………….. As Gladys held out a shaky hand she waited, the prisoners round the wall waited. The governors and officials outside the locked door waited. Even the birds seemed to hush their song and the wind paused on it’s journey down the mountainside. Would the axeman add Gladys to his list of victims?”
This is how I stared I one of the editions of my book about the life of Gladys Aylward, a missionary in China. The idea was that the reader would be so gripped by my words that they would want to read on!
Every life is like a book with a beginning and end. We have no control over the beginning of our lives, who our parents are, where we live, or even our hereditary traits. But we have control on how we will end. Have we lived our lives within God’s will, so He will be able to say to us ‘Well done good and faithful servant.’ May we be able to say like Paul, ‘I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now is stored up for me the crown of righteousness.’ 2 Timothy 4:7-8