Rosie’s Inheritance

Rosie and Irene sat in their favorite “reading nook,” as the rain pattered against the windows one afternoon in the autumn. It had been a busy house cleaning day, with laundry to wash and fold. At last Mother had said they could be free to go read awhile.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to live in a castle, though?” Rosie said with a sigh, as Irene finished the chapter. They had been reading Caddie Woodlawn, and Rosie had been impatient to know if the Woodlawn family would go to England and become lords and ladies.

“I guess I would be happiest here,” said Irene. “Why would you want to live in a castle?”

“It would be fun to explore, and—and,” Rosie looked down, “we wouldn’t have to do so much work and could buy new things. We wouldn’t have to fold laundry again!”

“Well, I doubt it would ever happen,” Irene said with a shrug. “We don’t have any rich relatives to inherit from, though Great-grandpa Coleman did live in England.”

“Did you get anything when Great-grandpa died?” Rosie asked Dad at the supper table.

“Rosie wants an English castle willed to her,” Irene teased.

“Nothing that grand,” Dad said, with a smile, “but we did get the secretary desk and a small inheritance. He wasn’t very rich, you know.”

“I got his pen,” Daniel said, “but I guess that isn’t worth much.”

“Too bad!” Chad said with a great sigh. “I just was waiting to be an English lord.” He winked at Rosie, and the others laughed.

I do wish we were just a little bit richer, Rosie thought gloomily, as she slowly began clearing the table. The sink was leaking again, so they would have to use a basin to wash the dishes tonight.

“Let’s be cheerful, dear,” Mama said, as she brought in the dish water.

“It’s hard,” Rosie said, a bit crossly.

Mom didn’t seem to hear. “The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, even if we don’t have much money. We really do have a great inheritance—think of all the promises He has given us!”

Rose swished her hands in the soap suds. “What does inheritance mean?” she asked.

“Well, it is something passed down to you in a will from someone that died, like money or property. But when Jesus died, God gave us an inheritance that is much more valuable. He made us His very own children and gave us a whole book full of riches.”

“Like what?”

“How about, ‘my God shall supply all your need,’* (Philippians 4:19)” said Mother with a smile. “That is like saying He has given us a pass to all the stores we would ever go to!” Rosie thought about storerooms filled with good things in heaven. She knew they were there, because Daddy had often told her about them.

“How do we get it, though?” she asked, thinking about a new sink.

“Well, do you remember the inheritance that Caddie Woodlawn’s family got?” Mom asked.

“Yes,” Rosie said slowly. “But they didn’t want to leave their home in America, so they didn’t get to have it after all.”

“Right,” agreed Mom. “And just the same way, God had things stored up for us, but we have to let go of our own ways and wishes to get them.”

As Rosie got ready for bed that night, she thought about what Mom had said. I guess God wants me to be cheerful before I can get anything, she thought, and folded her hands to pray. “Help me to obey and be cheerful, dear Lord,” she said. “Even if we have lots of chores and a leaky sink. Amen.” Rosie crawled into bed and fell asleep thinking of castles in heaven.

It was early when Rosie woke up, but Irene was already sitting by the window, reading her Bible. Rosie thought of the promise Mother had told her and wondered where it was. “Irene,” she said, crawling out of bed, “where does it say that God will give us what we need?”

Irene was quiet for a minute, then she said slowly, “I don’t know, but the verse I am memorizing says, ‘no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’* (Psalm 84:11)” She pointed to the place in her Bible. “That is from Psalm 84, and it means that if we do right, God will give us all the good things He has.”

Rosie smiled. “I guess it is another promise like what Mama was talking about. She said it’s like our ’heritance.”

“I guess that is true,” Irene said slowly.

“And the Bible is sort of like the letter that the Woodlawns got,” said Rosie, excitedly. “It tells us about all the castles and wonderful things God has given to us!”

“If we ‘walk uprightly,’ ” added Irene, pointing to the verse.

“Well, I asked Jesus to help me to work cheerfully,” Rosie said, looking around at the jumbled bed covers and the new pile of laundry.

“And, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,’* (Philippians 4:13) ” Irene recited. “We should write our inheritance promises down to remember them.”

Rosie jumped up. “We can put them in a little box and call it our Inheritance Box!” she said.

“After our chores!” Irene said with a laugh.