Elisabeth Elliot: Missionary & Mentor
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
Elisabeth Elliot was one of the most influential Christian women of the 20th century. Following her martyred husband’s death in 1956, Elliot returned to the mission field with her young daughter to live with the Auca Indians, the savage tribe who murdered her husband Jim and four other missionaries. Elliot then spent several years working with the Quichua Indians before returning to United States in 1963. Author of more than twenty books, Elliot inspired generations of evangelical Christians, including her seminary students Tim and Kathy Keller, with her clear and clarion call to Christian discipleship and missions.
Elliot didn't just inspire others; she mentored and shaped me. My life and the lives of my children are very different because of her life and books.
As a young mom, I read Elliot’s Through Gates of Splendor and Shadow of the Almighty. Both books recount the story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot’s courtship, brief marriage, missionary work, and Jim's death. I was captivated by Elisabeth's life story: daughter of missionaries to Belgium, missionary to Ecuador, wife of a martyr; single mom to Valerie; widowed for the second time to a husband lost to cancer; landlady to seminary students- one of whom became her third husband. I was challenged by Elliot's commitment to God's Word and will. My life, however, wasn't changed by her words until February 1991 when Elliot was the featured speaker at our church's women's event.
At the time, my children were ages 11, 9, 6 and 3. Life was very busy, especially with James Bruce's special needs. Each child was in a different school within our district. That meant four separate school drop-offs and four pick-ups, same time, different places. My husband was coaching two sports and often had 12-14 hour days during football and baseball seasons. I juggled my part time job with the demands of raising our family and running our household. There were after school activities for the older children: piano, dance, athletics, and homework. I was constantly harried, hurried, and worried. There was never enough time, energy, money, or sleep.
Attending the conference, I hoped to gain one new gold nugget of truth to help, equip, or encourage me. Nothing new came during Elliot’s main addresses. My anxiety level, frustration, and disappointment grew with each session. Finally, I desperately prayed, "God, please send a gold nugget. Just one. Please!"
The last session seemingly ended without any new insight. Almost as an afterthought, the event organizers allowed a brief question and answer session. Flipping through some index cards, Elisabeth selected one and read, "How do you know God's will for your life?”
Sitting on the edge of my chair, I eagerly anticipated her answer.
"That's easy," Elisabeth said quickly. "You do your next thing."
Stunned by her abruptness that, quite honestly, bordered on rudeness or dismissal, I fumed, fretted, and began gathering my things to leave. Suddenly Elliot pulled the card back out and continued her answer.
"Actually, you discipline your emotions and do your next thing, whatever it is. God says that His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. A lamp gives us light for our very next step, whatever it is. If it's changing a dirty diaper, that's God's will for your life. If it's cooking supper, that's God's will for your life. God doesn't give us freeway lights to see to the end of our journey. He gives us light for our very next step."
And with those eight words, I received TWO gold nuggets of help and hope. "Discipline your emotions and do your next thing" became my personal mantra for raising my children. No matter the task -cooking supper, changing a diaper, sending a child to college, losing a parent, planning a child's wedding, burying James Bruce, receiving a breast cancer diagnosis- Elliot’s wise counsel “discipline your emotions and do your next thing” has served me well the last thirty-plus years.
I am forever grateful for the wisdom of Elliot’s words. Through the years I have shared them with hundreds of women, including my own daughter. In 2004 as a young single woman, Meredith wrote Elliot to thank her for her writing and broadcast ministry. Surprisingly, Elliot wrote back with a personal letter saying:
“Thank you for your well-thought-out letter to me. In response to your letting me know that I have helped shape your life through my writings, I can only say “Thanks be to God.”…Let God continue to give you His peace and joy. He will be there each day.”
Thank you Elisabeth for mentoring and modeling with both your lips and life. Thanks be to God!