It's difficult to understand how Lina endured and achieved something other than her writing. But she realized how important it was to relax with good friends. Therefore, it was often a visit to their home and Lina and Oskar visited their friends too.

 

Oscar Ahnfelt and his wife were part of Lina and Oscar's social circle. Oscar Ahnfelt was educated at the Academy of Music and had exclusively intended to devote himself to music. He played guitar, gave lessons as a music teacher and planned a concert tour. But by that time he had been saved in 1841 and had begun to gain interest in church activities. He had a gripping, serious voice that floated over the other voices at the unison song in the church. Soon, he began to compose, play and sing Christian songs to his friends. He accompanied himself on a very well-known 11-string guitar, which he had designed himself.

 

After a while, Ahnfelt also began preaching. There was no time left for either music lessons or concerts. He got calls from all over the country to come and sing and talk. The trips took place by horse and carriage. Many people said he would not preach when he was not ordained. Once he had to hide under the cover of the carriage to save himself from the stones  thrown at him.

 

He was also fined for breaking the Convention Post before it was repealed in 1858. But no persecution, no fines and no Convention Post could get him silent.

 

Ahnfelt liked Lina's simple but deep lyrics and wrote melody to many. By the way he played and sang them, they became the property of the people and belonged to the most popular Christian songs. He, so to say, sang them into the hearts of the Swedish people and he became known as "the Evangelical Troubadour".      

 

In 1870, Ahnfelt's opponents came to the king, Charles XV, to complain about Ahnfelt's activities. They asked the king to put a stop to Ahnfelt. The king was a sensed man and declared that he first wanted to get his own idea of ​​him. Maybe he also knew that Ahnfelt was an ever-welcome guest with his sister, Princess Eugénie.

 

When Ahnfelt received the summons to the king, he hurried to Lina and told her about his situation. He asked her to write something that he could tune and sing to the king. The song "Who claps so slowly, in the peace of the evening, on your heart" had a text with direct invitation to the king to receive the peace of Jesus.

 

Ahnfelt left for the castle. He had prepared carefully and prayed to his heavenly king for the encounter with the earthly.

 

The king and Ahnfelt talked about Ahnfelt's activities and then Ahnfelt brought out the guitar and started singing Lina's newly written song. The many verses had content that grabbed the king's heart.

In the verses 1 and 4 it stands:

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Who are clapping so slowly in the evening pease

on your heart?

Who is approaching with healing,  gentle and sweet 
for the hidden pain of the soul?

 

Every rose here on earth has its thorn, after all,

but the peace,
which Jesus gives you, no thorn has left,

when the day once is over.

Tr. U.F.

​

Ahnfelt told Lina afterwards that the king had been deeply moved, reached out his hand to him and said, "You can play and sing as much as you want in both my kingdoms!" (Norway belonged to Sweden.)

 

In the future, Ahnfelt didn't have to be afraid of legal sanctions.

 

The picture is about the song that was sung for the king. It's Jesus standing at the door of the heart, clapping. The door opens from the inside. Jesus wants to come in and offer his salvation and peace.

​

The climbing roses are linked to the verse where it says: "Every rose here on earth has its thorn, after all ...".

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The lily of the valley in the foreground is the symbol "The coming of Jesus and the salvation of the world". That is exactly what is the current message in the picture -- as well as in Lina's poetry and in Ahnfelt's activities.