Ames

I've been doing research on my grandmother's family. Her great-grandmother was Harriet C. Ames and I've been tracing the Ames line. I found some very interesting things! The Ames family (originally spelled "Eames") has been in this country since the early 1600s. One of the Ames ancestors married a woman named Rebecca Blake. In 1692 she was arrested for being a witch and was a part of the famous Salem witch trials. She was coerced into a confession, spent 7 months in prison, and then was given a repreive by the govenor after they called off the witch hunts.
I have to admit that I am disappointed she confessed. I understand that the others before her who denied being a witch were executed and she was literally trying to save her own neck. But as I was reading the "confession", my stomach turned. I just couldn't confess to following the devil. Matthew 10:28 says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." We place so much value on this short time on earth that we are given. Even if we live to be 100 years old, it is still just a blink of the eye. I wouldn't want to throw away eternity for just a little extra time here. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21