The shepherds on the Delectable Mountains had received word of the company. They kept rooms ready near the water. Knowledge and Experience visited Despondency and Much-afraid first. Watchful checked the road ahead. Sincere took the children to see the new lambs.
Sitting outside, Christiana saw for the first time the mountains her son had described. Cloud shadows traveled over the slopes. Clean water buckets stood beneath the fruit trees. If she had stayed in the city, she thought, she would only have known what was new in the shop windows. She would never have known there were mornings like this.
A small mirror hung inside. Mercy stood before it a long time and asked the host whether she might look a little longer.
Christiana joined her. One side showed her own face: fine lines beside her eyes, windblown hair, an uneven seam at her collar. She lifted her hand to tidy herself, as she always had. Then the mirror turned and showed more than her face.
She saw the Savior’s crown of thorns and his wounded hands. This was not a face meant to frighten her into running away. It was the Lord who knew people’s sins and had still given himself for sinners.
Christiana stood still. She had once looked in mirrors to discover whether others would think well of her. Now a greater question faced her. Before the Lord who loved her like this, was she willing to keep living only for herself?
Knowledge explained that the mirror represented God’s Word. The Bible showed people their true condition and made Jesus Christ known to them. “To see a stain and then do nothing is like looking in a mirror and immediately forgetting what you saw.”
Mercy wanted to see this Savior every day, so she would remember why she did her ordinary tasks. The shepherds gave her the mirror and gave the travelers a Bible small enough to read on the road.
That afternoon, Experience led them to a mountain pass. Several distant roads looked smooth but ended abruptly at cliffs. He warned the children that a crowded road did not necessarily lead to the King’s city. The judgment and eternal life of which Jesus spoke were real. Saying “This seems good to me” could not make a road away from the Lord lead to the same destination.
Back at the house, Christiana put the Bible on the table. She read the instruction to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, then paused. She asked her husband what they should discuss first when making a home.
Outside, the children were naming a lamb. Their suggestions did not agree. Christiana listened. At last her first question was no longer how much larger their new house ought to be than their neighbors’.