Have you ever found yourself in a completely unanticipated place? Some are joyous, exciting places! Some are scary, difficult ones.
One woman who knew unexpected places was Elisabeth Elliot. You may know part of her story—how she and her husband were missionaries in Ecuador in the 1950s when he and four other men were killed by the very people they were eager to reach with the gospel. But there’s much more to her inspiring life than this.
The Making of Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Elliot—or Betty, as she was known to her family and friends—was born on December 21, 1926, in Brussels, Belgium, to missionary parents Katharine and Philip Howard. She was the second oldest of six children.
From the time she was born, her parents gave her a foundation of faith that would carry her through the rest of her life.
Her father worked for the Sunday School Times. He often brought visiting missionaries home for dinner, and young Betty heard stories of men and women living and dying for the sake of the gospel.
Things that made Elisabeth Elliot uniquely her:
- From a young age, she committed to surrender her own plans to the will of God. In college, she felt a call to translate the Bible for people who had no copy in their own language.
- She endured a five-year courtship with her first husband, Jim, while they both discerned His will for their lives. In the meantime, she served the Lord as a single woman wherever He led her, whether in Canada, New York, or the jungles of Ecuador.
- She’s known for her acceptance of God’s will and willingness to “do the next thing” in the days and months that followed her husband Jim’s death. She understandably experienced depression and loneliness in the years after the event.
- She felt such great love for the Waodani people, whose men killed her husband, that she, her young daughter, and another missionary were the first to live among them for a time. Many of the people came to know Christ, and Elisabeth and her colleague laid the groundwork for the Bible to be translated into their language.
Courage in the Face of Tragedy
After Jim’s death, Elisabeth continued to serve the people of Ecuador in whatever capacity she could. Eventually, she and her daughter, Valerie, headed back to the States.
In spite of her declaration only nine days after Jim’s death that she was sure she’d never marry again, she did marry twice more. She became a well-known speaker and writer, inspiring those she met as well as many people today.
Elisabeth Elliot passed away on June 15, 2015, at eighty-eight years old, after a ten-year battle with dementia. Her faith in the Lord in the face of great personal loss continues to encourage generations of men and women around the world. Her legacy lives on through her writings about a life lived to the glory of God.
“We are women, and my plea is Let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is.”― Elisabeth Elliot
Want to Learn More?
You can read more about Elisabeth Elliot in Becoming Elisabeth Elliot and Being Elisabeth Elliot, as well as in many of her own books.
