Stop the World! I Want to Get Off!
Have you ever gone through a stretch when life threatens to overwhelm you? There are just so many things to do, so many challenges to overcome, so many demands on your time, that it just seems impossible. You want to throw up your hands in despair and shout, “I’m outa here! I can’t do it all!” I’ve been here many times, and I suspect you have too.
Elizabeth Elliot
I recently read an excellent article by Elisabeth Elliot, the influential author and missionary widow of the martyr, Jim Elliot.
Elizabeth describes how, following the death of Jim, she faced a life full of confusions and uncertainties. She lived alone on a jungle station with an entire church of new believers now looking to her for guidance. She had a ten-month-old baby daughter, fifty newly-converted believers and no spiritual leaders, a diesel generator to operate if she wanted electricity in the evenings, an airstrip to keep clean, a boy’s school to supervise, a women’s literacy class to teach, and medical work to do. Not to mention the normal duties of a young mother and dealing with her own grief in the loss of her husband. She faced a constant challenge with knowing what next thing she needed to tackle.
