Eye for Beauty in the Midst of Harsh Realities
That is what I would have missed reading had I skipped the foreword in the book about Elizabeth Prentiss that is being read by GirlTalk and their readers (I'm one of them).
Barbara Hughes wrote the foreword which included:In a day of 'literary realism', which often celebrates the ugly, Elizabeth Prentiss' eye for beauty in the midst of the harsh realities of life is truly elevating.
Ms. Hughes also pointed out that Elizabeth Prentiss' personality was volatile, passionate and energetic and that she would throw herself furiously into whatever project was occupying her at the time. This would be followed by total exhaustion and corresponding depression ...as well as the need to acknowledge her spiritual shortcomings.
Let's just say, I can relate to this woman. Ms. Hughes then quotes from Elizabeth Prentiss, 'I find it hard to be patient with myself when I see how far I am from reaching even my own poor standard, but if I do not love Christ and long to please Him, I do not love anybody or anything.'
Last night in our home we have our church Bible study and fellowship. We had a sharing time in which I spoke of how it is my fleshly and selfish desire that through this busy time of my life, with construction people and many others in and out of my home about everyday, that they would just come and go impersonally. I don't want to get to know these people... I don't want to care whether or not they are saved. But then God has always stripped me of that selfishness at the proper time. In otherwords, when the oportunity DID present itself, the Lord in His goodness took hold of my heart and I DID care and I WOULD ask questions and genuinely want to know if they were saved. As a result I have heard the testimonies of some of these people. My cabinet guy; the Lord took hold of Him and transformed his life from one of drugs. My house cleaner I now consider a friend and we often speak of the things of the Lord. She asks lots of questions and is from a strong Catholic background. We have cried together, prayed together. The young man that helped rebuild some steps into our bonus room told me of his parents dying when he was young, his struggles... and his deep love for the Lord. The breeders that came by our home to drop off our new Bishon Frise pups. We spoke of the Lord and now they send the most precious e-mails telling me that their entire church is praying for our family. I was walking with the cane in the midst of an MS exacerbation when they came. Our conversation, though short, was focused on the Lord. Then there is the young man that kept cussing as he was putting in an A/C unit in the bonus room. I went up to speak with him gently about the fact that I homeschool and my kids can hear him. I asked him a few questions like "Where are you going when you die?" and "What do you want to be known for?" He did not know the Lord and yet I cannot help but think the Lord used that conversation to plant seeds. Seeds, I pray, that will be planted on fertile ground.
Why did I share all of that? Elizabeth Prentiss' words sadly ring true with me when she wrote, if I do not love Christ and long to please Him, I do not love anybody or anything. I share all of the opportunies that the Lord caused my heart to change on... but then there are SO MANY that I closed my eyes to because I was absolutely stubborn spitting out vile excuses as I missed them thinking it doesn't really matter... but, oh, it does.
Ms. Hughes then addresses what the author Sharon James points out ... those harsh realities in Elizabeth's life in which the Lord often used the path of suffering as a means to deepen her love of Christ. I cannot imagine losing my children while I am still alive. I think that is every mother's worst nightmare. I would rather suffer with the often debilitating disease that MS can be than suffer as did Elizabeth Prentiss.
If you would rather avoid a painfully sanctifying comparison of your own faith with that of this woman, perhaps you should stop reading now. But please read on! --Barbara Hughes





My Husband, My brother in Christ













