Spring Gleaning

   Such a tremendous encouragement to read through a few biographies of women of great faith that have gone before us!  Following are a few clips to offer a flavor of the rich Christian heritage from which we may glean and gain valuable insight in to life in Jesus.

   Their stories are an important reminder that life is never easy and that God alone is our hope.

   Please note that much of what is written is not in my own words, but gathered from a variety of sources which are not noted.  ~ae

Amy Carmichael (1867–1951)

Missionary to India; founder of Dohnavur Fellowship, a society devoted to saving neglected and ill-treated children.

In many ways an unlikely candidate for missionary work, she suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end.

Much of her work was with young ladies, some of whom were saved from forced prostitution, providing a place of sanctuary for more than one thousand children who would otherwise have faced a bleak future.

In 1931, Carmichael was badly injured in a fall, which left her bedridden much of the time until her death. Amy Carmichael died in India in 1951 at the age of 83.

Quote:  "Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is." 

Quote:  "But God is the God of the waves and the billows, and they are still His when they come over us; and again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm. Once more by His interposition deliverance came. We were cast down, but not destroyed." 

Quote:  "I wish thy way.
And when in me myself should rise,
and long for something otherwise,
Then Lord, take sword and spear
And slay." 

Quote:  "Do not fight the thing in detail: turn from it. Look ONLY at your Lord. Sing. Read. Work." 

Quote:  "Bare heights of loneliness...a wilderness whose burning winds sweep over glowing sands, what are they to HIM? Even there He can refresh us, even there He can renew us." 

Quote:  "Satan is so much more in earnest than we are--he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost." 

Frances Jane Crosby  (1820–1915)

Blind all her life, she saw over 8,000 poems set to music and over 100,000,000 copies of her songs printed.

Born in a one-story cottage, her father died before her first birthday. At six weeks old, she caught a slight cold in her eyes, and as a result of poor medical treatment her sight was destroyed completely.

At age eight, she wrote her first recorded poetry: “0 what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be. How many blessings I enjoy, that other people don't. To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot and I won't!”

Quote:  "Mother, if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind ... for when I die; the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour."

Mary Mitchell Slessor  (1848-1915)

Missionary to Africa.

When she was 11, she began working 10 hours a day to help provide for her family.  Her father was an alcoholic, but she was extremely close to her mother as they prayed continually for God's provision and protection.

She was not well-educated, but loved to read the Bible most of all, studying Jesus and his life in the gospels.

At age 27, she sailed for Calabar (in present day Nigeria) where she became a school teacher.  After three years, she was sent home on furlough because of malaria. When she returned, she lived with the people she served.  Her childhood of poverty made this lifestyle seem fairly normal.

Witchcraft and spiritism and cruel tribal customs were hard to fight against. The tribes thought that twins were a result of a curse caused by an evil spirit who fathered one of the children. Both babies were brutally murdered and the mother was shunned from society.

Rescuing many twins and ministering to their mothers, she was continuously fighting against this evil practice, often risking her life. The Lord gave her favor with the tribesmen, and Mary eventually gained a respect unheard of for a woman.

Quote:  "Lord, the task is impossible for me but not for Thee. Lead the way and I will follow."

Quote:   "Why should I fear? I am on a Royal Mission. I am in the service of the King of kings.

Esther John (1929–1960),  born Qamar Zia

Pakistani Christian nurse who was allegedly killed by a Muslim radical. 

She attended a government school and, after the age of seventeen, a Christian school. There she was greatly moved by the faith of one of her teachers, and she began to read the Bible earnestly.

While reading Isaiah 53, she chose to leave Islam and adopted Christianity. She faced many problems from her family, who migrated to Pakistan.

Her Christian faith grew secretly.  Eventually, she ran away from home, fearful of the prospect of marriage to a Muslim husband.  She worked in an orphanage and took the name Esther John.  

She evangelized in the villages, travelling from one to the other by bicycle, teaching women to read and working with them in the cotton fields. At times her relationship with her distant family seemed calm but sometimes her anxiety was troubling.

Today, Esther John is remembered with devotion by the Christian community with whom she lived and worked"

Quote:  "In an age where conversion to a new faith provokes fear and hatred, leave all other ties; Jesus is calling.”