WILLIAM & CATHERINE BOOTH (PART 15)

Catherine’s Heartfelt Letter to William

Sometime that same month, Catherine recorded her feelings for William in a letter. “My dearest William,” she wrote, “I fancy I see a look of surprise at the reception of this after such a recent visit. You will think it unnecessary and so it is. The evening is beautifully serene and tranquil according sweetly with the feelings of my soul, the whirlwind is past. All is well.” “I feel it is right and my soul praises God for the satisfying conviction. Most gladly does my soul respond to your invitation to give myself afresh to Him and to strive to link myself closer to you, by rising more into the likeness of my Lord; the nearer our assimilation to Jesus, the more perfect and heavenly our union.”

A Union of Hearts and Souls

“Our hearts are now indeed one, so one that disunion would be more bitter than death. The thought of our walking through life together perfectly united, together enjoying its sunshine and battling with its storms, by softest sympathy sharing every smile and every tear, and with thorough unanimity performing all its momentous duties, is to me exquisite happiness, the highest earthly bliss I desire. We have acknowledged God from the beginning, we have sought His will, and we do now love Him more for the love we bear each other. You are always present in my thoughts. Believe me, dear William, as ever your own loving Kate.”

William’s Focus on Ministry and Future

While many couples have long courtships and short engagements, William and Catherine would have just the opposite—during the next three years, William would venture forth to secure them a future and a steady income, and to establish his ministry to the point that it could sustain them both. By the time they were engaged, William was halfway through the three months of support that Edward Rabbits had pledged, so he turned his full attention to the remaining month and a half. Edward had already gotten William’s name onto several of the reformers’ preaching plans, so William set out to preach wherever he was welcome.