The Hollow Tree

In an old biography, Y<ites the Missionary, a pioneer Southern Baptist missionary to China tells how, as a student in a crowded dormitory, he found a way of having his daily devotions in peace: As Mr. Heming had three other boarders, who occupied the same large room with ,ne, I found it necessary to resort to the woods again for an altar of prayer, without which I could not feel that my communion with God was satisfactory. And as the undergrowth about the academy was very sparse, I had some difficulty in finding a suitable place.

Finally I found in the midst of a majestic forest an immense hollow oak tree standing in a ravine. I cleaned out the hollow and made a plank floor to protect rne from the dampness, for it was big enough for me to turn around in. Thither I went every morning just before daylight.

This hollow tree, in the ravine and before daylight, was darker than Egypt. But I was afraid of neither snakes nor devils, for I knew that the Lord was with me there.