ie's second great-aunt stayed too, upon urging, and they all
talked on and on. They were trying to teach her a little prayer, and
she was so stupid! Over and over and over, and still she could not say
it by herself.

Finally, when I had given up all hope--I had sat in stony silence all
the afternoon--we got up, made our farewells, and started home. The
sun was setting as we entered our front gate. I was tired (why, I did
not know; I had not done a thing all day), hungry (I had not been able
to eat much of the dinner, no matter how it had been urged upon me),
and disgusted. And the worst of it was that it did not seem to bother
my sister a particle. She took it all as a matter of course. Was this
what I was going to have to go through; what I had come to China for?
For I began slowly to realize that today's experience was not just one
isolated incident; it was likely to happen any day in the year.
Something was wrong somewhere. What?

Suddenly it came over me. It was only that I had had my day all
planned out, and did not want my plans interfered with. Because they
had been interfered with, I had done nothing but sulk. All the things
I might have enjoyed I had not enjoyed at all. I had made myself
miserable for a whole day, just because my time had been disposed of
by someone else, and not by me.

"Dear Lord," I said, "I'm not going to go through this again! I know
it was really You who disposed of my day when I wanted to do something
else with it! Give me an open mind, Lord, so that whenever I go to the
country, whenever I start a new day, I'll be able to accept whatever
comes, and rejoice in it!"

It is amazing how much difference a little thing like one's mental
attitude can make. After that, when I went to the country, I never
took with me any preconceived notions of what time I would return. I
might get back home for my noon meal, or I might get back by sunset,
or I might even stay overnight--what difference did it make? My time
belonged to the Lord, and it was up to Him to dispose of it. I found
that with this attitude of mind I could go anywhere, take advantage of
any opportunities offered, stay more time or less time than I had
expected, and still enjoy every moment, because God had planned it,
and had worked it out in the best possible way.[4]

CHAPTER 7

_The Right to a Normal Romance, If Any_

I was in the CIM Mission Home in Vancouver, B. C., an accepted
candidate. In two more weeks I was to