Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Revell
Publication Year: 2018
Purchase and Synopsis
My Rating: 5 stars
I’m not a huge memoir reader, and honestly, of late, I haven’t been a huge reader in general. When I saw this book up for review, I knew I needed to read it. I feel like everyone is familiar with Elisabeth Elliot, or more predominantly, the earth shattering story of her husband Jim Elliot and his ministry and death. But we have many of her books on our shelf and she was always a woman who I look up to. As a missionary, a Christian, and as a wife, mother, and widow. Her story has always inspired me in some way, and this book was no different.
It was super interesting to hear the story of her first missionary placement and I found her story encouraging. It was special to see a side of Mrs. Elliot that we never got to see before. The rawness, human-ness and struggles of a new missionary. I look up to this woman so much, and to see her start fresh as a missionary with doubts, confusion, an attitude and insecurities, it was a wonderful thing.
I found myself walking away feeling encouraged. Not because she is a flawed human too, but because I don’t feel the need to be perfect. We see these saints and pray we will be like them. We feel we should be and strive and push to become the mostly saintly that we can. But when push comes to shove, we are human. To use another phrase, Rome wasn’t built in a day. A saint with a heart fully yielded to the Lord did not happen overnight. Elisabeth Elliot was not born the powerful and mighty woman of God that she was when she passed away at the age of 88. Her life was a journey. Her spiritual path was a rough trek at times, much like the roads she traversed in the Ecuadorian jungle. They were muddy, hard, exhausting, and a constant up and down.
But as the title indicates, we were made for the journey, not for the end result.
I hope you give this book a read. It will encourage your heart to be thankful and press on in the journey, because even though it’s hard, it isn’t always about the destination.
Have you read any books by Elisabeth Elliot?
By God’s Grace,
Victoria
