Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the
strength of my heart
and my portion
forever.
After her nurse's training, while living in a Navigators
home, Helen became engaged to a Christian man, but she had no peace. The Holy
Spirit spoke to her: "Take off the ring:" It was difficult, but she
obeyed. "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"
(Psalm 73:26), she pledged as she committed herself totally to God. "Lord,
I'm completely Yours. I'll do as You choose."
After graduation Helen found work in Seattle and attended
a Brethren assembly, where she learned still more about waiting on God for His
leading. A fear of missionary service was growing within her, yet she was
afraid to disobey God. If I don't do what He wants me to do, He will withdraw
blessing from my life, and I'll have nothing.
She still was certain of the missionary call but felt
inadequate. She was afraid to meet missionaries, thinking they would see
through her and recognize that she could never qualify for missionary service.
At twenty-two, other matters troubled her, too. She worried about being single,
about missing out on romance. She wanted to have a Christian husband-a marriage
approved by God.
The realities of life interrupted her dreaming. Her
mother had a stroke, and Helen went home to care for her. Another Christian man
came into her life. Again she had no assurance that he was the one.
"Twice I've been sidetracked from doing Your will by
my longing for romance. Today I vow that I will not date anybody for a whole
year so that I can concentrate on preparing for the mission field." She
put it in her little notebook and added "unless You bring someone into my
life so obviously that not to see him would be disobedience."
Soon afterward Helen met Dr. and Mrs. Dick Pitman of
Wycliffe Bible Translators, who urged her to attend the Summer Institute of
Linguistics in North Dakota, where they would be teaching. Helen applied, but
Wycliffe wrote back requesting that she attend their linguistics program at
Briercrest Bible Institute in western Canada.
But l want to go where my new friends are! Helen
rebelled. The Lord again gave her what the Quakers call "a check from the
Spirit:" Before she refused, she prayed. The answer was unmistakable.
"Maybe you'll find a nice young man up there,"
her mother suggested hopefully. She didn't want her dainty daughter going off
to the wilds of a mission field without a man to take care of her.
"No, Mom, I am not going there to find a husband. I
am going to study." And she set her heart and mind to do just that.
At Briercrest, in a class of only seventeen students, it
was impossible not to notice the young man with the Dutch accent. After several
weeks, Helen decided, "He is different!"
John hadn't overlooked the tiny American with the big
brown eyes. She's the prettiest girl in the class. By the third week,
concentrating on his studies was more difficult. Helen is to be my wife. Had
God impressed this on him? John was confused. He had never dated, yet he had at
times daydreamed about a small dark-haired girl-like Helen. Was this just his
idea, or was the Lord really speaking to him? If Helen is to be my wife, God
must have spoken to her also, he reasoned.
Helen was in bed, not yet asleep, when she became aware
of the presence of the Lord. "I want John to be your husband:" The
words were clear. She sat up in bed. "But, Lord, he's such a
character!" And then the Presence was gone. Helen was awestruck that God
had spoken about something so special to her.
"Why doesn't he speak to John?" She wondered
when two weeks passed and John was not paying any attention to her. She knew
the Bible said to "try the spirits:" So she prayed, "Lord, if
this was You speaking to me, please give me one hour alone with John
tomorrow:" She knew their days were fully scheduled. That was the day John
decided he must get acquainted with Helen. After class he caught up with her
and suggested a game of Ping-Pong before lunch. After the game, as they walked
to the dining room, he asked, "Could I have one hour with you this
afternoon?" Helen was stunned. One hour-today! It was exactly what she had
prayed for! That afternoon, they walked on the prairie. "Helen, I have
been strongly affectioned toward you in my heart," John announced in his
Dutch accent. "It has been interfering with my studies. So I asked the
Lord if it was not of Him, would He please take it away. And if it was of Him
to give you the same conviction also."
"Oh yes, God told me that you are going to be my
husband," Helen replied matter-of-factly. John was dumbfounded. For
several moments he continued to chew on a straw, smiling speculatively at
Helen.
"In that case, we'd better spend some time
together!" He finally concluded. Students and faculty thought the idea was
hilarious and teased them endlessly. "What an unlikely pair," they
thought-and said. "I've never seen two persons more opposite in personality,
temperament, and background. You will have many problems," a professor
warned. In spite of counsel and clucking, Helen and John remained confident
that the Lord had arranged it all.
Dear Lord, We pray today that our ears and eyes would be
open to what You are telling us. Help us not to go ahead on our own but to trust
You fully. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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