[Recently]…Elisabeth Elliot came face to face with her heart’s truest love””Jesus Christ. On Earth, she married three times””her first two husbands preceded her in death ”“ but from earliest childhood her deepest affections were for her Savior, and it was for Him that her soul yearned. June 14, 2015 is the day her lifelong passion, zeal, and rugged obedience see fulfillment in his presence. I am thrilled for her!
I, on the other hand, am sitting here with tears in my eyes, already missing one of my most sacred companions on the journey towards home. I know from the get-go that I will not be able to fully articulate her impact on me; words are going to fail me in my attempt to honor her, but I have to try.
As a college freshman in 1972, I got to be a part of history. My little (at the time) college””California Baptist””was no different than hundreds of other Christian colleges. We lived in the era of no dancing, drinking, smoking, girls couldn’t wear pants to class, “mixed bathing” was frowned upon, drums and guitar in worship were radical ideas, and boys with long hair were instantly pegged as hippies (which was definitely not a good thing). Our faith was buttoned up, quiet, respectful, filled with rules and regulations, and not very exciting or challenging.
One of the really great servants of Christ in our time–I first heard her at Urbana 1981…
Kendall, I never knew you were at Urbana ’81…. so was I. It was also the first time I heard her. I heard her speak in person two other times, and I’ve read every one of her books. Many of them multiple times.
She has been a mentor to me through her writings and testimony – especially in how she handled suffering, loneliness, and her willingness to surrender her will to God’s.
P.S. I should add that Kay Warren’s tribute is SPOT ON. She really nailed what made E.E.’s books so powerful, and why she became a model to so many of us of what a radical commitment to Christ looked like lived out in the flesh.