About a year later I made the acquaintance of a young man to whom I soon
became greatly attached. After a time we became engaged. As I had learned
to seek the mind of the Lord in all things, I did not find it hard to
submit the question of matrimony to his will. The fact that I had had my
own way so long, made me feel sure that the Lord was going to let me have
my own way about my marriage. But this consideration did not at all affect
my consecration, either at this time or when I sought God for healing. When
I sought God for healing, he showed me that he wanted my entire service,
and that I must seek his benefits for his glory only. It was wholly for
God's glory, therefore, that I sought healing.

Perhaps some of the young ministers and workers who read this book will
wonder at the long period of inactivity, as some might call it, between my
call to the ministry and the time when I actually began gospel work. I now
look back upon this period as a time filled with blessed experiences that
moulded my character, established my faith and peculiarly fitted me for the
work to which God had called me. I have always been glad that the Lord had
his way. This time was not lost. Like Joseph in prison, whom God was
educating to be a prince, I was being prepared in God's own way for future
usefulness.

During this time of which I am now speaking, God laid it upon my heart to
read the many good books, which now fell into my hands, such as Phoebe
Palmer's Works--"Faith and Its Effects," "Sanctification Practical," and
"Tell Jesus." The last named book was especially helpful in forming my
Christian character, containing as it does so many precious experiences of
trusting in God. I had the privilege also of reading the works of Mrs.
Fletcher, Hester Ann Rodgers, and John Wesley. For the privilege of reading
all these, I give God thanks. I put the experiences of which I read to a