The uniqueness of Lincoln's beard

[Eva Elisabeth]

After Willi's death, Abraham Lincoln said:
"My poor boy, he was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!" (Elizabeth Keckley: "Behind the Scenes", pp. 101-104.)

He said this privaltely to Elizabeth Keckley, not in public, thus certainly not "for show".

Mahabra, why should he have said this as an atheist?