| The Life of Dr. J.R. Miller |
Chapter 11 |
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What passed in that room was sacred. Dr. Miller did not betray the confidence of those who sought him. But sometimes circumstances made it necessary that one or two others should share a portion of the secret. For this reason it is possible to give a few glimpses into the lives of those who made pilgrimages to the room of this friend of Jesus.
A troubled woman told of her husband’s difficulties. “He is a splendid man,” she said, ‘but I know there is something preying on his mind. I cannot help him in this. I do not know who can, unless you will. He thinks everything of you, though you do not know him.” So Dr. Miller went out in search of the husband, who held a position of trust with a large business house.
A stranger told the sad story of a husband and wife. The wife was employed in a store from which she brought home many things for which her husband knew they could not pay. “You cannot afford this, can you?” he would ask her. At last she was arrested for the theft of the goods, and he was arrested with her as a receiver of the stolen property. Before the case was called for trial the wife collapsed and was sent to the hospital. To the judge the husband stated the case, and appealed in behalf of the wife. “She will die if she goes to prison,” he said. “I will plead guilty. Send me in her place.” The prosecuting attorney agreed, and the judge sentenced him to serve eighteen months in jail. Verifying the facts as told him, Dr. Miller was able to secure the reduction of the term. Then the problem was to place the wife until her husband should be able to care for her. Learning that her mother lived in Boston, and that it would be possible for her to live with the mother and sew for a living, Dr. Miller arranged for this and paid the expenses to Boston.
With averted face a young woman told her story: She had been detected in shoplifting by an officer in one of Philadelphia’s smaller department stores. When taken to the private office of a member of the firm, she confessed and asked for mercy. The business man told her she would be released on one condition – that she go to Dr. Miller, and tell him all about her sin, and listen to what he would say to her. And this man had no personal acquaintance with Dr. Miller, and was not a member of the church!
Two visitors from a town three or four hundred miles distant came to inquire for a boarding place within reach of St. Paul Church. “We have come down to spend the winter,” the mother said to Dr. Miller, “because my daughter needs you. We have read your books, and we feel that she should be able to listen to your preaching, Sunday after Sunday. She is making a brave effort to overcome a besetting sin. We feel that you can help us as no other man can.”
The telephone announced the arrival in the city of two strangers who had hoped to reach the office that afternoon. Their train had been delayed and they wished to know if it was too late to call. Dr. Miller was just leaving his office, so he asked them to meet him at his home. There he spent half an hour with them in sympathetic conversation about their difficulties. After he had prayed with them, they hurried away to catch a night train back to the city from which they had come. They had traveled many hours for the one purpose of talking with one who had already spoken to them helpfully through his books!
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