For This

by Isabella MacDonald Alden

When minister John Remington asked a poor church congregation to collect funds for missionaries, the task seemed hopeless. But John did not count on the resourcefulness of Miss Margaret Eustis, the president of that tired little Missionary Society.

While Margaret doesn't have any coins to add to the collection box, it may turn out the offering she does have is of far greater value than John ever imagined.

Genres: Christian Fiction

43 pages, ebook

About the author

Note: In her lifetime, Isabella Macdonald Alden was usually published under the pseudonym Pansy, and occasionally under the name Mrs. G.R. Alden.

Aunt to Grace Livingston Hill

The sixth of seven children born to Isaac and Myra Spafford Macdonald, of Rochester, New York, Isabella Macdonald received her early education from her father, who home-schooled her, and gave her a nickname - "Pansy" - that she would use for many of her publications. As a girl, she kept a daily journal, critiqued by her father, and she published her first story - The Old Clock - in a village paper when she was ten years old.

Macdonald's education continued at the Oneida Seminary, the Seneca Collegiate Institute, and the Young Ladies Institute, all in New York. It was at the Oneida Seminary that she met her long-time friend (and eventual co-author), Theodosia Toll, who secretly submitted one of Macdonald's manuscripts in a competition, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to the publication of her first book, Helen Lester, in 1865.

Macdonald also met her future husband, the Rev. Gustavus Rossenberg Alden, at the Oneida Seminary, and the two were married in 1866. Now Isabella Macdonald Alden, the newly-married minister's wife followed her husband as his postings took them around the country, dividing her time between writing, church duties, and raising her son Raymond (born 1873).

A prolific author, who wrote approximately one hundred novels from 1865 to 1929, and co-authored ten more, Alden was also actively involved in the world of children's and religious periodicals, publishing numerous short stories, editing the Sunday Juvenile Pansy from 1874-1894, producing Sunday School lessons for The Westminster Teacher for twenty years, and working on the editorial staff of various other magazines (Trained Motherhood, The Christian Endeavor).

Highly influenced by her Christian beliefs, much of Alden's work was explicitly moral and didactic, and often found its way into Sunday School libraries. It was also immensely popular, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with an estimated 100,000 copies of Alden's books sold, in 1900.

Information taken from:

readseries.com

isabellamacdonaldalden.com

Reviews

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a lovely reminder of giving the sacrifice of praise. Even if the story was short, and I wanted to know more, it was still good.

[Angie Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing terribly wrong with it, but not a favorite from the author. It felt kind of all over the place thematically--it starts out like maybe it's supposed to be about giving, but no, it's really more about thankfulness--and then we're inspiring generosity in others, but the end result is romance? None of it was bad, although I didn't really like the visitor taking Margaret's very personal notes and remembrances, even if he'd "redeemed" them, and even if he thought she was only a child. But I think just not being able to pin down a consistent theme bugged me more than anything.

2.5 stars

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exceptionally sweet, precious short story. The simplicity of the story shows well the biblical principle of being a cheerful giver, and loving God enough to give Him everything--and not just the principle, but the rewards that come from it. It's one thing to be subtle in a book, so that it seems "realistic". But it's just as legitimate to clearly spell things out, to show simplistic, whole faith in God's Word.

For how simple the theme and purpose was, the plot was actually quite clever, and not extremely predictable. And the characters were quite sweet (but I repeat my adjectives). I really appreciated Margaret's reaction, and the whole family's striving for polite etiquette, in addition to godliness.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This was just delightful. It starts off with a random minister preaching the message laid on his heart, all about on thankfulness and giving, and then feeling very foolish for it given the circumstances. That same message, however, kicks off the whole story, where a young woman too poor to give makes token coins to be redeemed if she becomes able. It was all so sweet and encouraging, so full of godliness and exhortation, and a good dash of humour when a well-meaning young man mistakenly believes she's a child and writes her the cutest but of course hilariously inaccurate letter!