It was just a little hard for me when Elisabeth died recently.
It would have been much harder, but the last time I saw her in her home, she wasn't able to recognize her daughter's photo on the wall. She was relaxed and calm. I asked Lars if she had been at all difficult at all, and he said not for a minute.
She didn't remember my name, but as we had always sung together, she ran to the piano and began playing a hymn. When I left, she grabbed my arm and tried to tell me how much she had enjoyed the visit. Then as I went out the door, she loudly said her regular "Grace and Peace" she had always done. It was deeply moving.
Her last three books were written during the time she realized she was having a hardening of the arteries as her mother had had so many years ago.
She and I used to pray together several times a year. Usually we had lunch that I brought ( not always) and then we went into the living room which had a huge wall of glass, allowing to view the ocean. Or in warmer weather, we went out on the stony veranda that overlooked the cove. She would grab my hand and yank me down, and we would both pray. Every single time we prayed, she would begin by telling the Lord He should do absolutely anything to change her to be more like Him, and to make her more sensitive to obedience.
At the age of twelve, she made the life decision to take up The Cross and follow hard after the Lord. I have many stories which I will share with you over time. We ate together, laughed together, talked about our issues with contemporary Christian music and modern psychology. She often spoke of the " no ears to hear" situations in her speaking engagements.
I loved her deeply. Once she told me Amy Carmichael was her spiritual mother and she would be mine. Can you imagine?
Soldier of The Cross, you have no idea how significant your influence is to all in your life. You don't need to see the results. You don't need to be a famous author.
You must be a "face like flint" soldier of The Cross.
There is nothing else. We don't live here - we are just passing through.
Tell Him today you want to be changed. Tell him He can do anything with you. Tell Him to reveal to you what it means to take up The Cross and follow Him.
Tell Him today.
Tell Him aloud.