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A New Path

Posted in Uncategorized, Faith, Hope, God-Given Abilities, Perseverance, Excellence, Heroes of the Faith, Service, Courage, Waiting on God, tagged Hope, John Ruskin, Lilias Trotter on March 23, 2023| 12 Comments »

“Forgive me, Mr. Ruskin, but I cannot give myself to painting the way you desire and continue to keep God at the center of my life.” Lilias Trotter looked imploringly into her tutor’s eyes.

After three years of instruction from John Ruskin, the well-known artist, author, and art critic, twenty-five-year-old Lilias had prayerfully made the difficult choice. She would forego the opportunity to become “the greatest living painter in England” (as Ruskin predicted she would be) [1], and devote more time to her mission work.

(Self-portrait of John Ruskin)

“Ah, my dear Lilias, he sighed. “I was afraid our efforts would come to this. Goodness knows how many times I’ve complained that you needed to spend more time with your brushes and less time with the women of ill-repute around Victoria Station. However, I do admire your dedication, and regretfully wish you well.”

From this crossroads, a new path began to open before Lilias Trotter.

For a while she continued her work with women at the lowest rung of society, bringing them to the newly-established YWCA for training in various employable skills and introducing them to Jesus.

But in 1887 Lilias found her heart drawn to Algeria, after hearing a plea for more missionaries to the region. She applied to the North African Mission board but was denied because of her frail health.

(Algiers, Algeria circa 1880)

Undeterred, Lilias and two friends chose to go on their own. A generous endowment from her wealthy father (upon his death in 1865) provided the financial support necessary.

The three women settled in the French Quarter of Algiers and immediately began learning the Arabic language and Muslim culture. Because of the male-dominated society, they chose to engage women and children.

(watercolor sketches from Lilias’ journals)

Lilias put her artistic abilities to work creating leaflets. The charming illustrations drew attention to the spiritual truths she wrote. Her inspiration came from the hours she spent in Bible study, meditation, and prayer.

But inroads into Algerian society didn’t come easily. Nearly everyone was suspicious of them. They were women after all, European and Christian. Opposition came from the French authorities as well as Muslim leaders. Lilias wrote in one of her journals that she and her friends felt like they were knocking their heads against stone walls [2].

In addition, the Muslim women were difficult to reach since they were seldom allowed in public. But after several years one woman accepted Jesus into her life. Sometime later another woman and then another expressed their faith, until they could count their little band of believers on two hands.

Lilias also traveled into Morocco on the west and Tunisia on the west, into the far regions of the Sahara Desert where no European woman had been before. There too she sought out the isolated Arab women as well as the Sufi mystics who resided in the desert.

Lilias shared her pamphlets and booklets that included depictions of Arab life, always praying that her writings and drawings would help these Muslims understand who Jesus is and why he came.

Of course, persecution came to those who chose Jesus. Two of the new Arab Christians were slowly poisoned to death, others were drugged, and still more were punished in additional ways.

After twenty years of struggle, the missionaries still had little to show for their effort. And yet Lilias wrote:

I am full of hope that when God delays in fulfilling our little thoughts, it is to leave Himself room to work out His great ones. And, more and more as time goes on, I feel that the longer He waits the more we can expect, . . . and the greater will be the band of those who will come forth free from their prison walls. When one gets hold of that vision, one can throw back in the devil’s face his taunts over the seemingly wasted years that lie behind us.
Lilias Trotter

Perhaps even more productive than her conversations with people was the impact of her writings. Lilias’ appealing parables, “creatively illustrated in Eastern style” were widely circulated [3].

She felt confident that the Arabs would more seriously consider written material in the privacy of their homes, than in public conversation where opposition was likely. With her knowledge of the culture, language, and arguments of challengers, she was perfectly-suited for the task of producing these materials.

Lilias returned to Europe a number of times because of her health, each time in dire need of rest as well as relief from Africa’s oppressive heat. But Lilias often used these trips to garner interest and support for the organization she founded: the Algerian Mission Band.

A number of people responded, joining Lilias in her work. However she never asked for financial backing. “God’s wealth is boundless,” she said [4].

For forty years Lilias Trotter lived out her passion for the Algerian people. Before her death in 1928, she’d established twelve mission stations. And instead of three workers, a team of thirty had joined them, bringing the joy-filled, abundant life of Christ to the Muslims of Algeria [5].

Notes:

[1] https://ililiastrotter.wordpress.com/about/

[2] https://ishshahsstory.com/2016/08/10/celebrating-lilias-trotter-of-algeria/

[3] https://www.imb.org/2019/06/12/missionaries-you-should-know-lilias-trotter/

[4] https://thiseternalmoment.com/the-life-and-legacy-of-lilias-trotter/

[5] https://pioneers.org/2021/03/15/the-legacy-of-lilias-trotter

Other sources:

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/lilias.trotter.talented.artist.dedicated.missionary/139139.htm

https://liliastrotter.com/about/

Photos of Lilias Trotter and her paintings as well as John Ruskin’s self-portrait, courtesy of Lilias Trotter Legacy at http://www.liliastrotter.com and their Facebook page.

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Enough Was Enough

Posted in Courage, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Uncategorized, tagged Boldness, Courage, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks on February 23, 2023| 31 Comments »

“Can I come watch with you, Papa? There’s no school tomorrow.”

Papa nodded and motioned with his left hand for her to join him on the front porch. His right hand remained on the rifle across his lap. “Come on, Sugar. But you sit light, y’hear? Be ready. ‘Member what I told you?”

“Yessir. I’m to run inside but shut the door easy, and tell everybody to skedaddle to the creek, and run.”

“That’s my girl. No KKK Klan is going to mess with us, right? Now, recite for me Psalm 23 soft and slow. Such beautiful words and promises!”

Six-year-old Rosa settled herself in the rocker next to her grandfather, confident he would keep the family safe through the night. She began to recite the favorite psalm.

Violence never came to the McCauley home in Pine Level, Alabama, but throughout her growing up years there and then in Montgomery, Rosa endured the burden of racial injustice against blacks, including different (and deficient) schools and libraries, separate restaurants and water fountains.

One time a white boy shoved Rosa hard from behind. She was expected to endure such abuse without retaliation, but Rosa shoved back. The boy’s mother witnessed the incident and bellowed, “Who do you think you are?”

Rosa courageously replied, “I won’t be pushed around by your son or anyone else.” Then, in spite of her pounding heart, Rosa calmly turned and walked away. The mother let the matter lie.[1]

In 1932 at age nineteen, Rosa married Raymond Parks. He was an activist-member of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. A decade later, Rosa’s growing frustration with the status quo led her to join also. She eagerly learned about civil disobedience and served as secretary to the local and then state organization.

(NAACP Meeting in Montgomery, about 1947)

Along with many blacks in the South, Rosa suffered daily humiliation on the city bus, as she rode to and from work. Black passengers were required to pay their fare at the front, then get off and re-enter the bus through the back to sit in the rear. If the bus became crowded, black people had to give their seats to whites.

But on December 1, 1955, Rosa refused to relinquish her seat—not because she was physically exhausted, as some have said. No, she was tired of mistreatment because of the color of her skin.

Enough was enough.

“When that white driver waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats,” she later recalled, “I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt on a winter night.[2]

“God’s peace flooded my soul, and my fear melted away. All people were equal in the eyes of God, and I was going to live like the free person God created me to be. I refused to move.”[3]

Instantly Rosa felt infused with God’s strength. Police arrested her, put her in jail, and charged a $14 fine, but she remained composed through the ordeal. They released Rosa that evening.

As news of her arrest spread, more people—black and white—began to express indignation over the evil of segregation. Leaders in the NAACP decided to establish a boycott of the Montgomery bus company until the law was changed.

Supporters knew they would need God’s wisdom, strength, and perseverance. A prayer meeting was scheduled, and a young minister addressed the crowd: Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We must protest the law of the land because it violates God’s law,” he said. “But violence is not the answer. It is our duty to protest segregation, but we must do so with dignity and Christian love. Join me in praying that the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will soon shine over our great nation.”[4]

Boycott participants (which included blacks and whites) had to find alternate transportation. Many walked up to several miles to work and then home again. Churches helped to find rides for some. Others were given rides by coworkers—again, black and white.

Of course, opposition came quickly. False arrests, harassment, and even bombings occurred, yet the boycott continued. The bus company was losing thousands of dollars and began supporting integrated seating. City commissioners, however, would not back down.

Meanwhile, Rosa’s attorney, Fred D. Gray, took the case from Montgomery all the way to the Supreme Court. A year later, the regulation demanding black people to give up their bus seats to whites was declared unconstitutional.

That decision created a domino effect. If separation was wrong on buses, it was wrong in schools, restaurants, libraries, and elsewhere. Slowly and painfully, one segregation-law after another was abolished.

That pain would impact Raymond and Rosa. They had to leave Montgomery because of harassment and death threats. Rosa responded by spending long hours in prayer, after which “an intense calm swept over her.”[5]

The couple eventually settled in Detroit. From 1965-1988 Rosa worked for Michigan Congressman John Conyers. She remained active in the civil rights movement for sixty years and wrote several books.

Upon her death in 2005, then-Governor Bob Riley of Alabama said, “Rosa Parks will always be remembered as a courageous woman who quietly confronted injustice, and in so doing, changed a nation.”[6]

No doubt Rosa Parks would agree.

[1] https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/church-history-for-kids/rosa-parks-and-the-bus-ride-that-changed-america-11635083.html

[2] https://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20130401JJ.shtml

[3] https://canonjjohn.com/2021/10/23/heroes-of-the-faith-rosa-parks/

[4] https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/church-history-for-kids/rosa-parks-and-the-bus-ride-that-changed-america-11635083.html

[5] https://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20130401JJ.shtml, quoting from Jeanne Theoharis’ biography, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

[6] https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/civil-rights-pioneer-rosa-parks-dead-at-92-found-strength-in-scripture-church/

[7] Sinclair Ferguson quote from Grow in Grace, 33-34.

Other sources:

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/rosa-parks-journey-as-a-civil-rights-icon

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/rosa-parks-martin-luther-king-jr-and-the-montgomery-bus-boycott

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com (Pat Henson); http://www.flickr.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.flickr.com; wwwflickr.com (Jim Forest); http://www.flickr.com; http://www.picryl.com; rawpixel.com.

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Footsteps to the Horizon

Posted in Courage, Excellence, God's Faithfulness, God's Power, God's Protection, God's Provision, Heroes of the Faith, Perseverance, Service, Suffering, Uncategorized, Waiting on God, tagged Bruce Olson, Colombia, missionary, Motilone tribe on January 12, 2023| 42 Comments »

“This is your last chance!” shouted the leader of Columbian guerillas. “Join us, convince the Motilone to join us, and you will live. Otherwise, you are a dead man.”

The surrounding group of rebels aimed their guns at American missionary Bruce Olson. He fully expected to see Jesus in the next moment.

Of course, this was not the first time Bruce faced death during his twenty-seven years with the fierce Motilone tribe.

No sooner had he arrived in 1961, than Bruce was surrounded by tribal warriors who shot him in the leg with an arrow and took him captive. The guides who had led him to their village fled.

Bruce was just nineteen years old and had received no backing from any mission organization, because of his age and lack of training. But he’d seen a picture of the remote Columbian tribe and felt drawn to share with them about Jesus.

His own life had been wonderfully transformed by Christ, and Bruce desired that for others—especially for this people-group who knew nothing about Jesus.

(The Motilone live in northeastern Columbia and western Venezuela.)

Some would say, “Bruce must have misunderstood God’s plan. Otherwise, why would he experience calamity the minute he arrived?”

But look what God did.

First, the Motilone chief forbade the warriors to kill Bruce. Later he and his men would admit there was no reason to spare him; they just did.

The next day the chief’s son, Bobarishora, brought worms for Bruce to eat, which thankfully tasted like liquified bacon and eggs. In spite of the language barrier, Bruce and Bobarishora began to build a friendship.

The leg wound became infected. Bruce escaped and returned to civilization for treatment. But upon regaining strength, the young missionary went back to the tribe—only to contract dysentery and have to seek medical help again. He almost died in the effort.

For his third attempt to settle with the Motilone, Bruce brought medical supplies. The witch doctor took great interest in their healing powers and learned from Bruce how to use them. With Bobarishora and the witch doctor as allies, Bruce began to achieve acceptance in the tribe.

Over the next four years he learned the Motilone language and set about translating the New Testament into their language, putting to use his knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Bobarishora, or “Bobby,” became the first to accept Jesus into his life. At a festival not long after, Bobby sang about the jungle trail of life, a metaphor familiar to the Motilone. Bobby explained he’d seen the footprints of God.

“There are many trails in the jungles,” he said. “But there is one trail that goes to the horizon.” (Bobby was referring to heaven.) “Christ came to walk that trail so we can walk in his footsteps.”[1]

It wasn’t long before many tribespeople had become Jesus-followers. They began sending their own missionaries to neighboring tribes to tell them about Christ.

The Motilone wanted to learn how to read and write, so Bruce started a school. He also set up a medical clinic, and led the effort to grow cacao, to help support the tribe.

(Cutting a cacao pod from the tree.)

Over time the proceeds helped finance 48 schools, more than 20 health clinics, 12 farming cooperatives, and numerous scholarships for Motilone students to attend high school and university.[2]

Then came the day in 1988 when 15 Communist guerillas kidnapped Bruce with the plan of forcing his cooperation, and convincing the Motilone to do so also. Bruce spent several months chained to a palm tree and became very ill. Somehow he survived.

One of the leaders asked Bruce to teach them how to read and write. They brought a book to Bruce, not knowing it was a New Testament. Bruce used it to teach the men to read, and many became Jesus followers.

Bruce’s health continued to deteriorate. The guerillas decided to give him a blood transfusion.

“I will give him some of my blood,” one rebel announced.

The next day he told Bruce that when he was a young child, the Motilone had given food to his widowed mother for three years, never asking for anything in return. “You saved my life,” he said, “Now, I save your life.”[3]

Months passed. No amount of mistreatment had convinced Bruce to help their cause.

One day a group stood him against a tree, announced his execution, and aimed their guns at him. But when they fired, Bruce remained unharmed. They’d shot blanks at him, expecting this final test to break him.

Sometime later one of the leaders told Bruce that capturing him had been a mistake. He hoped that Bruce could forgive them.

He promised the rebels would leave the Motilone alone, and Bruce could continue his work. After nine months of captivity, they released him.

As a result of Bruce’s long devotion to the tribe, more than 400 Motilone have graduated from high school, and over 30 from university, trained as physicians, accountants, translators, forest rangers, agriculturalists, and more. Still others have received technical training.

All have returned to their jungle communities to share their expertise within the tribe.

As of 2018, more than 70% of the Motilone tribe are following in Christ’s footsteps to the horizon.[4]

As for Bruce Olson, now 80, you’ll find him still working with the people of 18 different tribes and languages of the jungles.[5]

Notes:

[1] https://missionexus.org/an-interview-with-bruce-olson/

[2] https://www.tms-global.org/story-details/bruchko

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] https://www.godreports.com/2021/02/legendary-american-missionary-ate-maggots-wore-a-flea-collar-to-survive/

Additional Sources:

https://www.bruceolson.com/en/index.html

BRUCE OLSON MINISTRIES

https://www.theopedia.com/bruce-olson

Photo credits: http://www.picryl.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.commons.wikipedia.org (2).

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Genius Extraordinaire

Posted in Faith, God-Given Abilities, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Success, Uncategorized, tagged Issac Watts, Michael Faraday, Psalm 147:11, Sir Humphrey Davy, The Improvement of the Mind on October 13, 2022| 34 Comments »

Mr. Ribeau studied young Michael’s work, checking for crooked stitches and traces of glue. But after just two years of training, the young book-binding apprentice was already quite proficient.

“You’ve done a fine job, my boy!” Mr. Ribeau praised.

A small smile curled on Michael’s face. “Thank you, sir. This is the last book for today. May I go work on my experiments, please?”

Mr. Ribeau chuckled. “Of course. Off with you!”

Michael scurried to the back room where his master had given him space to investigate his favorite subject: electricity.

Interest had begun five years before in 1803 when Michael became an errand boy for Mr. Ribeau. Michael would read the books that came into the London shop for binding. Even though he attended school for just two years, Michael read with competence.

The volumes on science especially intrigued him, and he desired to conduct his own experiments. Kind Mr. Ribeau had made it possible. He also provided extra pennies now and then to attend scientific lectures.

Another book captured Michael’s attention: The Improvement of the Mind by the famous hymn-writer, Isaac Watts. Michael determined to follow Watts’ advice including: read worthwhile books, take thoughtful notes, and “ever maintain a virtuous and pious frame of spirit.”

No doubt Michael’s heart was primed for such a book, since he came from a Christian home. And as he grew into manhood, Michael embraced his faith in Jesus with ever-maturing dedication.

One day Mr. Ribeau presented Michael with four passes to attend presentations by Sir Humphrey Davy, a renowned chemist. At each lecture, Michael took careful notes. Later he bound them into a beautiful book.

In 1811 at age nineteen, Michael completed his apprenticeship, but had no desire to become a bookbinder. Though just a tradesman with little schooling, he sought a position with one of the scientific institutions, including Sir Davy’s prestigious Royal Institution.

With that application, he sent his precious notebook from Davy’s lectures, hoping to convince the great chemist of his passion for the sciences. But no position was available.

In 1813 an invitation arrived for Michael to interview with Davy, and he was hired as a laboratory assistant. Michael quickly proved himself, assisting Sir Davy at his lectures. Six months later, Davy selected Michael to accompany him on a two-year lecture tour through Europe.

When they returned, Michael pursued his scientific studies with passion. He researched steel, hoping to make it stronger. He sought to improve lighthouse lamps, prevent corrosion of ships, clean up the pollution in the Thames, and preserve art works and sculptures.

Michael was the first person to liquefy chlorine and discovered a new element, later named benzene, that’s used in dyes, nylon, and plastics. Further discoveries included the process that produced refrigeration and the potential use of ether as an anesthetic.

But he didn’t neglect his first love, electricity. Michael invented the transformer and the dynamo that created electricity without a battery. His discoveries also paved the way for the electric motor. In fact, Michael Faraday has been called “the scientific genius who gave electricity to the world” (1).

Such research propelled Michael into elite circles. He became director of the Royal Institution where he’d begun as an assistant to Sir Davy. Oxford University awarded him a doctorate, and he was invited to become a member—even president–of the prestigious Royal Society. He declined the position.

Michael Faraday lecturing at the Royal Institution: Prince Albert and his sons in the audience. Wood engraving, 1856, after A. Blaikley. Contributors: Alexander Blaikley. Work ID: xt5crqqq.

In spite of great success, Michael Faraday remained a humble man, uninterested in the fortune he could have amassed, manufacturing his inventions.

To Michael, the pursuit of scientific studies was a holy calling, and to understand even a fraction of nature’s workings was a gift from God (2) –much more valuable than money.

But not all his waking hours were devoted to science. Faraday was an active church member, serving as elder for more than 20 years, frequently leading in worship and even preaching.

Faraday also demonstrated faith-in-action. For example:

He proved himself a forgiving man on many occasions. One time the elders removed him from their circle—even church membership for awhile–because he accepted an invitation from Queen Victoria for Sunday lunch, which meant he couldn’t be at church.

But Michael continued to attend services and remained cordial to all, including those who’d hurt him.

Michael demonstrated grace. He and Sir Davy differed in opinion more than several times, but the younger scientist always expressed admiration for his mentor.

Michael’s generosity was also well known. He supported charities and visited the poor. And when his mother became widowed, he also supported her.

Throughout his career Michael expressed gratitude to God that he, a poor, uneducated tradesman should be privileged to explore the beauty and synchronization of God’s physical laws of creation.

In 1861, the aging Faraday wrote to a friend, “The contemplation of death [is] a comfort—not a fear. Such peace is alone in the gift of God. . . His unspeakable gift in His beloved Son is the ground of no doubtful hope” (3).

Michael Faraday proved himself a man of intelligence and integrity, but also of strong faith in God, and in the end, peace.

Michael Faraday. Photograph by W. Walker & Sons. Work ID: hjz8gkmw.

Isaac Watts would have been pleased, and no doubt so is God (Psalm 147:11).

Notes:

1. https://www.revshirelymurphy.co.uk/post/michael-faraday-and-his-christian-faith-which-influenced-his-science

2. https://crev.info/scientists/michael-faraday/

3. Ibid

Sources:

https://answersingenesis.org/creation-scientists/profiles/michael-faraday-gods-power-and-electric-power/

Heroes of the Faith: Michael Faraday

https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/drinking-from-a-fount-on-sundays

https://christiantoday.com.au/news/michael-faraday-his-christian-faith-influenced-his-science.html

https://creation.com/michael-faradaygods-power-and-electric-power

Michael Faraday

https://www.revshirleymurphy.co.uk/post/michael-faraday-and-his-christian-faith-which-influenced-his-science

Art & photo credits: rawpixel.com (2); http://www.lookandlearn.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.lookandlearn.com; http://www.azquotes.com; http://www.lookandlearn.com.

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God’s Business Partner

Posted in Blessings, Excellence, Generosity, God's Goodness, God's Provision, God-Given Abilities, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Perseverance, Prayer, Seeking God, Success, Uncategorized, tagged Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 6:33, R. G. LeTourneau on August 25, 2022| 33 Comments »

If you’d asked Robert’s mother Elizabeth about her teenage son, she may have replied, “He is a strong-willed, rebellious daredevil. If God doesn’t get ahold of him, he may not make it to twenty!”

No doubt Robert’s parents wondered if they’d made the right decision, when they allowed him to drop out of school at age fourteen and work in an iron foundry. But given his learning difficulties, on-the-job training seemed appropriate, to prepare Robert for his future.

Two years later in 1904, God answered the concerned parents’ prayers for their son. Robert decided hell was not an option he wanted to risk and at age sixteen invited Jesus into his life.

Later he would write, “No bolts of lightning hit me. No great flash of awareness. I just prayed to the Lord to save me, and then I was aware of another presence. No words were spoken. I received no messages. It was just that all of my bitterness was drained away, and I was filled with such a vast relief that I could not contain it all.”[1]

Robert moved from one uninspiring tradesmen job to another until he became an auto mechanic and discovered his passion—machinery. He opened his own garage with a business partner in 1911.

In April of 1917 the U.S. entered World War I. Robert volunteered for the war effort, working in a naval shipyard north of San Francisco. In August of that year he married Evelyn Peterson.

Upon returning home to Stockton, CA in 1918, Robert discovered his partner had sunk their business into debt. Robert carried $5000 of that liability.

He wondered, was God trying to transition him out of business? Should he become a missionary so he could work for God more directly? Robert sought guidance from his pastor and after praying together the clergyman remarked, “You know God needs businessmen too.”

Not long after, a rancher asked Robert to level a large parcel of land. The job paid well and Robert signed on. He satisfactorily completed the task in good time and actually enjoyed the work.

Through the 1920s earth-moving contracts kept coming Robert’s way. He bought land and built an engineering shop where he put his ingenuity and giftedness for engineering to work, designing machines that completed the task more efficiently. Most other companies still used mules with plows and dozens of men with shovels.

But even as a top-notch, road-construction contractor, financial struggles still plagued Robert. Now and then he’d sell one of his earth-moving inventions to help make ends meet for his growing family. (He and Evelyn had five children, though tragically their first died during the Spanish influenza epidemic.)

In the early 1930s, Robert’s attorney suggested, “Why don’t you focus on manufacturing your machines? That might prove more profitable.”

Robert decided to try, even though the nation was suffering through the Great Depression. During his first year in 1932, he earned a profit of more than $52,000 and by 1935, well over two million.[2]

(Robert nearly always included reference to his life verse with each signature.)

It was then that he and Evelyn decided to live on 10% of Robert’s income and give 90% to Christian mission work, colleges, and institutions. Meanwhile Evelyn started Sunday Schools and youth camps. God blessed each of their endeavors.

Robert not only invented the earth mover, but also the bulldozer, the electric wheel, the tree crusher, the log picker, the Tournawheel (a two-wheel tractor), and more. Eventually he’d own 300 patents and construction plants on four continents. He’d also design the first off-shore oil rig.

(from the he R.G. LeTourneau Museum and Archives, The Margaret Estes Library, LeTourneau University)

During World War II Robert’s company supplied 70% of the U.S. Army’s earth-moving equipment, making it possible for the Allies to quickly build roads, airports, and military bases.

After the war, Robert’s machinery helped construct the 48,000 miles of U.S. interstate highways.

(R.G. LeTourneau: The Man, Machines, and Mission Collection
Evelyn LeTourneau Collection)

In 1946 he and Evelyn founded the LeTourneau Polytechnic Institute, a Christ-centered school especially for veterans who desired training in engineering. It has since become LeTourneau University.

Business and philanthropy weren’t Robert’s only pursuits. Though he’d always feared public speaking, Robert felt compelled to accept an invitation to share his story at a banquet in 1935. Soon he was speaking all over America and even overseas. Robert would encourage others to honor God with their wallets and see what God would do.

“You will never know what you can accomplish

until you say a great big yes to the Lord.”
Robert Gilmour LeTourneau (1888-1969)

How has God blessed you as you’ve honored him with your wallet? Please share your story in the comment section below!

Notes:

[1] https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/christian_inventor_rg_letourneau.html

[2] Ibid

Other sources:

http://www.giantsforgod.com/rg-letourneau/

https://www.letu.edu/75/exhibit/panel-faith.html, and subsequent panels

https://www.oemoffhighway.com/trends/article/21366254/historical-construction-equipment-association-hcea-the-great-innovator-r-g-letourneau

https://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2011/jan/rg-letourneau

Biblical Business Profile: RG LeTourneau

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.wikipedia.org; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.wikimedia.org; Margaret Estes Library, LeTourneau University (2); http://www.dailyverses.net.

Special thanks to Shelby Ware at the Margaret Estes Library, LeTourneau University, for arranging permission to use the two images of R. G. LeTourneau in this post.

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Be Careful Who You Let into Your Dining Room

Posted in Faith, Heroes of the Faith, Perseverance, Uncategorized, tagged Genesis 1:27, March for Life, Nellie Gray, Pro-Life, Roe vs. Wade on June 30, 2022| 34 Comments »

Nellie Gray listened to the breaking news, not believing her ears.

How is this possible? she wondered. Surely everyone agrees that slavery was wrong, treating men, women, and children as less than human. And have we already forgotten the horrors of Nazi Germany, where revolting experiments were performed on babies?

Nellie’s thoughts transported her back to the days of World War II, when she served as a corporal in the Woman’s Army Corps. And though nearly thirty years had passed since Nazi war criminals faced a panel of judges at the Nuremberg Trials, the atrocities revealed at that time remained fresh in her mind.

Nellie bristled. How can our Supreme Court sanction another atrocity against innocent victims?

And she began to consider what might be done to reverse the decision of Roe vs. Wade, handed down on January 22, 1973.

Not long after a group from Long Island, already involved in the right-to-life movement, asked Nellie to host a meeting in her home. They desired to expand their local efforts to the national stage. “You live near the Capitol—it’s the perfect location,” the spokesperson explained.

Later Nellie would quip, “Be careful who you let into your dining room because you may wind up being the president of a corporation.”[1]

The group first met in October 1973, and someone presented the idea of a march, to be held in Washington D. C. on the first anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. They hoped to draw thousands of people, which would urge Congress to overturn the court’s decision.

Nellie was asked to arrange for speakers, because of her contacts in and around Washington as a federal lawyer. The one role she was unable to fill was emcee, so Nellie provided that function herself.

The event did raise awareness, as twenty thousand people gathered in Washington, and peacefully marched twenty-one blocks on Constitution Avenue to the steps of the Supreme Court Building.

It was supposed to be a one-time-event.

“We thought we were going to march one time and Congress would certainly pay attention to 20,000 people coming in the middle of winter to tell them to overturn Roe vs. Wade,” Nellie said.[2]

But their expectation proved erroneous. And because there were leftover funds after the ‘74 event, someone suggested holding another march the following year.

Nellie decided to retire from practicing law and established the March for Life and Education Defense Fund, dedicating the rest of her life to the pro-life cause. She and the vice-president, Terrence Scanlon, took no salaries; Nellie ran the organization from her home.

As the decades passed, support for their cause continued to grow. In recent years, well over 100,000 have participated in the March for Life, enduring the cold and even snow to draw attention to the plight of unborn babies. In 2011, fifty-three members of Congress spoke at the March for Life Rally.

Also important to the cause: neonatal research, proving fetuses develop much more rapidly than we knew in 1973. For example:

Within the first few weeks, the beginnings of a face become apparent.
The heartbeat can be heard at 6 weeks.
The neural tube (brain, spinal cord, and other neural tissue of the central nervous system) is well formed at 8 weeks.
Fingers and toes are easily distinguishable by 11 weeks.
Thumb-sucking has been photographed at 18 weeks.

Of course, Nellie Gray and the March for Life participants have been criticized for their stand against abortion. But she explained her position this way:

“God Almighty created man and woman in his own image, and we recognize that. The United States Constitution recognizes that human beings are endowed with a right to life. We must carry out our patriotism and our love of God through such events.”[3]

In 1998, Nellie asserted the eventual overturn of Roe vs. Wade. “I have complete, utter faith that we are going to get this,” she said.[4]

Nellie Gray led every March for Life through 2012, with undaunted enthusiasm and conviction. But in August of that year, at age 88, she died of natural causes in her home.

I’ve often wondered if good news from Earth becomes known in heaven. If so, might Nellie know what happened last week–that ten years after her arrival in heaven, a giant step has been taken here toward the right-to-life of unborn babies, that her faith is being rewarded and her conviction is becoming fact?

I’d like to think so.

Notes

[1]https://religionnews.com/1998/01/15/news-profile-nellie-gray-25-years-behind-the-march-for-life/

[2] https://religionnews.com/2012/08/14/march-for-life-leader-nellie-gray-dead-at-88/

[3] https://heavy.com/news/2017/01/nellie-gary-march-for-life-founder-biography-anti-abortion-pro-life-quotes-2017-date/

[4] https://religionnews.com/1998/01/15/news-profile-nellie-gray-25-years-behind-the-march-for-life/

Other Sources:

http://www.marchforlife.org

http://www.todayscatholic.org

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com; http://www.wikipedia.org; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.rawpixel.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.canva.com.

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Eliza Harris and the Coffins

Posted in Courage, Encouragement, Faith, Generosity, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Service, Uncategorized, tagged 1 Corinthians 15:58, Catherine Coffin, Eliza Harris, Levi Coffin, Matthew 25:40, Underground Railroad on May 12, 2022| 22 Comments »

Eliza strained forward as her legs churned beneath her, the underbrush tearing at her long skirts. The small boy in her aching arms whimpered, sensing a danger he couldn’t see.

“Hush, chile,” she gasped in a whisper. “Mama’s gone keep you safe.”

Eliza dared a quick glance behind her. She could see nothing of the slave catchers who’d found her hiding place, a house near the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. She’d slipped out the back door and into the woods as they approached the front. But they would surely guess her run for freedom, and their long legs, unencumbered by skirts, would quickly bring them close.

Eliza dared not slow her pace toward the northern side of the river, where she and her baby had a chance to be together. Though her master had been kind, he was planning to sell her son. Eliza could not let that happen; her two older children had already died.

Finally, Eliza could see glimmering flecks through the trees as morning light danced on the water. But this was not what she’d planned. Eliza had expected to walk across the mile-wide river on ice, given the winter season. Instead she found the ice broken up into mammoth chunks, drifting slowly on the current.

With a prayer on her lips, Eliza made the choice to cross anyway, jumping from ice cake to ice cake. Sometimes the cake on which she stood sunk beneath the surface of the water. Then Eliza would slide her baby onto the next cake and pull herself on with her hands. Soon her skirts were soaked and her hands numb with cold. But Eliza felt God upholding her; she was confident he’d keep them safe.

On the northern bank stood William Lacey, one of those who watched the river for escaping slaves in order to help them. Time and again he thought the river would take the woman and child, but she miraculously reached the bank, heaving for breath and weak from cold and exhaustion.

When she’d rested for a few moments, the man helped her to a house on the edge of town. There she received food and dry clothing before being taken to another home and then another, along the Underground Railroad. Finally she reached the home of Quakers, Levi and Catherine Coffin, in Newport, Indiana.[1]

By the time Eliza arrived on their doorstep in 1838, the Coffins had been helping escaped slaves for more than a decade. In fact, the following year they would build a house specifically designed for their work as station masters on the Underground Railroad.

A Federalist-style house, similar to the Coffins’ home

In the basement they constructed a spring-fed well, to conceal the enormous amount of water needed for their many guests. On the second floor, they built a secret room between bedroom walls, just four feet wide. Up to fourteen people could hide in the long, narrow room.

Eliza Harris was only one of more than a thousand slaves (some say 3,000) that stayed in the Coffin home on their way to Canada. Had the Coffins (or others) been caught helping runaway slaves, they would have owed a $1000 fine (which few could afford) and would have spent six months in jail (which meant no income for the family during that time). Slave hunters were known to issue death threats as well.

But the Coffins held strong convictions concerning slavery. In the 1870s Levi wrote in his memoirs, “I . . . risked everything in the work—life, property, and reputation—and did not feel bound to respect human laws that came in direct contact with the law of God.”[2]

For the introduction of Coffin’s book, William Brisbane[3] wrote the following about Levi and two other abolitionists:

“In Christian love they bowed themselves before their Heavenly Father and prayed together for the oppressed race; with a faith that knew no wavering they worked in fraternal union for the enfranchisement of their despised colored brethren, and shared together the odium attached to the name of abolitionist, and finally they rejoiced together and gave thanks to God for the glorious results of those years of persevering effort.”[4]

Should we face such hatred and endangerment in our day, may we stand in the midst of it like Levi and Catherine Coffin—steadfast and unmovable in the power of God.

Addendum:

In 1854 the Coffins visited Canada and happened to encounter a number of former slaves they’d helped. Eliza Harris was one of them–settled in her own home, comfortable and contented.

Her story may sound familiar because Harriet Beecher Stowe, a friend of the Coffins, included the slave’s harrowing escape in her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

[1] Now called Fountain City

[2] https://www.indianamuseum.org/historic-sites/levi-catharine-coffin-house/

[3] a doctor, minister, author, and South Carolina slaveholder who turned abolitionist and moved north where he freed his slaves

[4]https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/coffin/coffin.html

Other sources:

http://www.womenhistoryblog.com

http://www.rialto.k12.ca.us/rhs/planetwhited/AP%20PDF%20Docs/Unit%206/COFFIN1.PDF

https://mrlinfo.org/famous-visitors/Eliza-Harris.htm

Art & photo credits: http://www.nypl.getarchive.net; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.flickr.com (2); http://www.slr-a.org.uk; http://www.wikimedia.org.

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The Angel of Newgate

Posted in Courage, Encouragement, Excellence, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, God-Given Abilities, Heroes of the Faith, Service, Uncategorized, tagged Elizabeth Fry, Ephesians 2:10, Newgate Prison on March 24, 2022| 32 Comments »

Betsy gasped at the revolting scene before her. Yes, she’d been warned by Stephen Grellet, a family friend, but even his graphic descriptions could not have prepared her for this.

In a space meant for sixty women, three hundred women and children[1] swarmed over every square foot, some barely clothed. Screaming and shouting assaulted the ears.

But the worst offense was the stench of unwashed bodies, vomit, human waste and more which saturated the meager straw on the floor. Small barred windows offered little fresh air for relief.

The place: Newgate Prison in London England. The time: 1813.

Newgate prison. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.

In that first moment inside Newgate, Betsy knew that “God wanted her to minister hope to these women who were being treated like animals and had lost their desire to live.”[2]

The jailers told Betsy and her companion, sister-in-law Anna Bruxton, not to enter the cells, that the women were bound to attack her.

But Betsy insisted, and they marveled when her quiet presence actually calmed the women. Betsy read the Bible and then prayed for the prisoners. Many dropped to their knees.

After that first visit, Betsy began to dream of better ways to deal with prisoners—especially those guilty of nothing more than stealing apples to feed their starving children. She wondered, Instead of severe punishment as the only purpose of confinement, what if rehabilitation was provided?

Betsy went to work immediately. She organized her Quaker friends (a group which quickly expanded) who made clothing for the inmates and their children.

Betsy recruited volunteers to visit the prisoners, read the Bible and tell them about Jesus, then pray with them, just as she did. No doubt many chose to believe in Jesus as a result.

Mrs. Fry reading the Bible to prisoners.

Betsy arranged for clean straw to be brought in regularly. A prison school was established, paving the way for children and mothers alike to escape destitution. Betsy also convinced prison authorities to hire a matron and female monitors for the women.

It’s no wonder people began to call her the Angel of Newgate. But financial backing proved difficult. None of the male-dominated organizations were interested. Nevertheless, Betsy was able to raise support through friends.

As she worked, Betsy prayed:

“Lord, may I be directed what to do and what to leave undone, and then may I humbly trust that a blessing will be with me in my various engagements—enable me, O Lord, to feel tenderly and charitably toward all my beloved fellow mortals.”[3]

News of Betsy’s reforms began to spread. In 1818 Betsy was invited to speak before a House of Commons committee concerning prison conditions. She was the first woman ever brought before such a body as a witness.

Her experience as a Quaker minister helped Betsy deliver a clear and powerful speech. And members of Parliament responded affirmatively. But when she spoke against capital punishment, any action toward prison reform stagnated.

Disappointed but not discouraged, Betsy continued her efforts toward further reforms. At the time many prisoners were shipped to Australia. Women were chained, then transported to the docks in open carts. Crowds gathered to mock and throw all kinds of filth at them.

Betsy initiated change by offering to escort each convoy and keep order if prison officials used covered carriages. They agreed.

She also supplied each woman with a bag of useful items including materials for a patchwork quilt, giving them something to do on the long voyage. Better yet, when the women arrived they could sell the finished quilts.

Inside the hull of the Edwin Fox, the last surviving convict ship. Just 157 feet long, she transported at least 180 prisoners each voyage.

Also in 1818, an American emissary John Randolph visited England to see Betsy’s work firsthand. He wrote, “I have witnessed there miraculous effects of true Christianity upon the most depraved of human beings. Bad women, sir, who are worse, if possible, than the devil himself: and yet the wretched outcasts have been tamed and subdued by the Christian eloquence of Mrs. Fry.”[4]

Five years later sympathies in Parliament had changed and the Gaols Act of 1823 was passed. It included many of Betsy’s recommendations from three years before.

The new reforms didn’t apply to local jails or debtors’ prisons. Betsy and her brother Joseph traveled the British Isles to gather evidence of the conditions and then presented additional reform legislation.

And yet Betsy accomplished still more. “She established night shelters for the homeless, libraries for coast guards, societies to help the poor, and the Institution for Nursing Sisters to modernize British nursing. She also influenced Florence Nightingale’s training program.”[5]

For more than thirty years Elizabeth Fry championed these causes in the name of Christ. And to think, one year before that first visit at Newgate, she wrote in her diary, “I fear that my life is slipping away to little purpose.”[6]

But of course God would never let that happen to someone who trusts in him.

Addendum: Elizabeth Gurney (1780-1845), married Joseph Fry in 1800; they had eleven children.

Notes:

[1] The youngsters had no one else to care for them

[2] https://setapartgirl.com/story-elizabeth-fry/

[3] From Great Women of the Christian Faith by Edith Deen, quoted at https://setapartgirl.com/story-elizabeth-fry/

[4] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/to-act-in-the-spirit-not-of-judgment-but-of-mercy

[5] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/to-act-in-the-spirit-not-of-judgment-but-of-mercy

[6] (https://christiansforsocialaction.org/resource/heroes-of-the-faith-elizabeth-fry/ ).

Sources:

https://christianfocus.org/elizabethfry

https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/to-act-in-the-spirit-not-of-judgment-but-of-mercy

https://christiansforsocialaction.og/elizabethfry

https://setapartgirl.com/elizabethfry

https://encrustedwords.ca/elizabethfry

Art & photo credits: http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.lookandlearn.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.lookandlearn.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.dailyverses.net.

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Sammy Morris

Posted in Courage, Dreams, Faith, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Uncategorized, tagged Acts 9:1-9, Liberia, Prince Kaboo, Samuel Morris, Saul's conversion, Taylor University on February 10, 2022| 38 Comments »

Prince Kaboo’s head hung over his chest. Every part of his body ached from being tied to a wooden cross and then beaten. His back stung like fire from whippings with poisonous vines that also caused chills and fever.

All Kaboo could think about was death, and he welcomed it. Then the continual torture and starvation would stop, inflicted by the powerful Grebo tribe, who’d taken him captive in central Liberia. They used Kaboo to extort “peace payments” from his father, chieftain of the neighboring Kru tribe. He was only fourteen years old; the year, 1887.

(Liberia is located west of the Ivory Coast in southwestern West Africa.)

Suddenly, a bright light appeared over Kaboo. The ropes that held him to the cross fell off, and a voice called, “Kaboo! Run!” He felt miraculous strength return to his emaciated body.

Kaboo did as the voice commanded, dashing for the jungle and hiding inside a hollow tree until nightfall. Questions swarmed in his head. Where had the light come from? Who spoke to him? How did he become instantaneously strong? Kaboo had no answers.

The young prince did know he could not return home. The Grebos would just come for him again. So Kaboo determined to go in the opposite direction. At nightfall when he emerged from the tree, Kaboo was startled to see the light still shining above him. It guided him through the jungle.

Kaboo walked many days and finally came to a farm where he met one of the workers who happened to come from his tribe. That young man introduced Kaboo to the boss, who gave him a job.

The fellow tribesman took Kaboo to church on Sunday.

(Perhaps the church resembled this one.)

There he heard the story of a man named Saul who saw a great light and heard a voice.

“That’s what happened to me!” Kaboo exclaimed. He realized the same Jesus who spoke to Saul had spoken to him, and he invited Jesus into his life. Soon after, an American missionary, Miss Knolls, gave Kaboo a new name: Samuel Morris, after her benefactor.

Months later Kaboo met a boy who’d been a slave in the Grebo tribe when Sammy (as he came be known) was held hostage. The boy told Sammy, “We didn’t know what happened to you. A bright light flashed over you, someone called your name, and then you were gone!”

Sammy explained the miracle of his escape and the boy became a Christian too.

A dream began to form in Sammy’s heart, to head for America where there’d be knowledgeable teachers and many books about God. He was hungry to learn. So Sammy set out on foot for the coast where he found a ship headed to America.

(Such a scene may have greeted Sammy as he arrived at the port in Monrovia.)

He offered to work in exchange for passage but the captain declined.

“Oh Lord,” Sammy prayed. “Change his heart!”

And God answered. One of the sailors became sick and Sammy was assigned his tasks. Others on board mistreated him, but Sammy’s kindheartedness won them over, and by voyage’s end many chose to believe in Jesus, including the captain.

Upon arrival in New York City, Sammy set out to find Stephen Merritt. According to his missionary friends back in Liberia, this superintendent of a homeless mission would gladly help him.

Sammy stayed several months with Stephen, learning to know God better and assisting with the mission work. His passion for Jesus was contagious and many of the men who came through the mission also accepted Christ into their lives.

Stephen urged Sammy to go to Taylor University in Indiana to continue his education. The superintendent contacted the school’s president, Thaddeus Reade, on Sammy’s behalf.

This was the same university where the missionary, Miss Knolls, had attended. By December of 1891, Sammy had enrolled at Taylor and planned to become a missionary himself to the people of Liberia.

On May 12, 1893, the unthinkable occurred. Sammy died from a respiratory infection.

Some would say, “Why would God allow such a tragedy?”

But here’s what happened.

A few days after Sammy’s funeral, one Taylor student declared in a prayer meeting, “I feel impressed this moment that I must go to Africa in Sammy’s place, and I pray that as his work has fallen upon me, the mantle of his faith may also fall upon me.”[1]

Two more of that group affirmed they felt God wanted them to go to Africa also. Instead of one missionary—Samuel Morris—there would be three. And many more have followed.

In addition, five books and a film chronicle his life. In Sinoe County, Liberia, stands the Samuel Morris Educational Resource and Conference Center—a joint project of Taylor University, the Sinoe County Association of the Americas (SCAA), and local agencies in Liberia. At Taylor, scholarships and a dorm bear his name, and the school still prepares missionaries to serve around the world.

“Samuel Morris was a divinely sent messenger of God to Taylor University. He thought he was coming over here to prepare himself for his mission to his people, but his coming was to prepare Taylor University for her mission to the whole world. All who met him were impressed with his sublime, yet simple faith in God.”[2]
Thaddeus Reade

[1] https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=samuel-morris

[2] https://www.taylor.edu/about/samuel-morris

Sources:

Samuel Morris

https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=samuel-morris

https://www.taylor.edu/about/samuel-morris

https://www.taylor.edu/news/taylor-group-traveling-to-liberia-for-dedication-cornerstone-laying-of-samuel-morris-center

https://wellsofgrace.com/biography/english/morris.htm

Photo sources: http://www.picryl.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.wikimedia.org.

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A Masterwork of God

Posted in Courage, Encouragement, Excellence, Faith, Generosity, God, God's Faithfulness, Godly Character, Heroes of the Faith, Perseverance, Service, Success, Uncategorized, tagged Chick-Fil-A, Hero of Faith, Living by Biblical Principles, Perseverance, S. Truett Cathy, Success in Business on January 13, 2022| 37 Comments »

S. Truett Cathy (1921-2014) was just such a person, who grew up in poverty during the Great Depression to become a steadfast and unmovable masterwork of God.

At age eight he started his own business, inspired by a woman in his Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood. She sold cupcakes from her front yard.

M-m-m. What could I sell to earn some money? Truett wondered.

The answer: soft drinks. He purchased six bottles for a quarter and sold them for a nickel apiece. Just twenty six-packs, he figured, and I’ll have a whole dollar.

Truett quickly realized he could expand sales by enticing the door-to-door salesmen with cold drinks. He began to serve ice with the soda.

Soon the young entrepreneur had saved four dollars—enough to buy an old bicycle. Now he could make quicker profits by delivering newspapers. But competition for customers was stiff with three well-established papers in Atlanta.

Truett had learned the value of customer satisfaction, however, so he made sure his papers landed on porches. On rainy days he put them inside the screen doors, and his customer list grew.

Truett delivered papers until high school graduation, after which he was drafted into the Army. Upon honorable discharge in 1945, Truett returned home to pursue his lifelong dream: owning a business.

He decided to open a restaurant, knowing a bit about cooking for a crowd. For years he’d helped his mother as she daily prepared meals not only for their family of nine but also for six boarders.

Truett and his younger brother Ben pooled their resources, took out a loan and bought a piece of land near a Ford assembly plant and Delta Airlines at the airport which provided a large customer base.

The tiny restaurant, aptly named the Dwarf Grill, included just ten counter stools and four tables. The brothers served quick-to-fix burgers and steaks.

(The Dwarf Grill is still in operation, but in a new building with a revised name.)

They worked hard and the business thrived. But in 1949 tragedy struck. Ben, another brother, and two friends were killed.

Later Truett would remark, “I lost two brothers in an airplane crash, both of them leaving a wife and kids. When I get to heaven, that’s probably the first question I’d like to ask: Why was it necessary?”[1]

The heartbreak did not erode Truett’s strong faith in God, which had been inspired by his devout mother and nurtured by Sunday School teacher and life-long mentor, Theo Abbey.

Then more trouble ensued. In 1959 Truett was diagnosed with colon cancer. In an interview he explained that just prior to the successful surgery he experienced a new peace, knowing that whether he lived or died, he would be with God.[2] God granted another fifty-six years.

In 1960 the second restaurant burned to the ground, and then the original Dwarf Grill caught fire in 1965. But instead of becoming discouraged, Truett leaned on his God, growing stronger in faith and more determined than ever.

With only one restaurant to oversee, he focused his time on developing the menu. Truett remembered his mother’s impressive fried chicken, how she seasoned it the night before and put it in the ice box to marinate.

He experimented with recipes, tried his efforts on regular customers and soon created a new menu item: the Chick-fil-A sandwich—a play on the word fillet, but also indicating the meat was grade A.

Customers loved the new sandwich, and in 1967, Truett opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant. One successful opening followed another until, in the year 2000, the restaurant chain grossed one billion dollars in sales. By 2018, it surpassed $10 billion in sales.

(Enlarge this image to read about Truett Cathy’s winning habits
–based on Biblical principles.)

Today, the company generates more revenue per restaurant than any other fast-food chain, even though all locations are closed on Sundays. (Since his first day in the restaurant business, Truett set aside that day for his employees and himself “to rest and worship if they choose.”[3])

Truett’s commitment to put God first is expressed in the company’s statement of purpose: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”[4]

Truett also delighted to glorify God by spending his fortune to encourage others.

How do you identify someone who needs encouragement?

That person is breathing.

–Truett Cathy

Since 1973, Chick-fil-A has given more than $35 million in college scholarships to its employees. Truett also founded the WinShape Foundation, providing approximately $18 million dollars for the development of foster homes and summer camps.

His legacy of planting Christian ideals in the lives of others continues, even though Masterwork Samuel Truett Cathy now resides in heaven. (He is survived by his wife of sixty-six years, three children, eighteen grandchildren, and nineteen great-grandchildren.)

[1] https://www.quotetab.com/quote/by-s-truett-cathy/i-lost-two-brothers-in-an-airplane-crash-both-of-them-leaving-a-wife-and-kids-w

[2] https://www.11alive.com/article/news/thank-you-god-that-im-alive-in-book-chick-fil-a-founder-s-truett-cathy-shared-faith-affirming-brush-with-mortality/85-48c52862-7a53-4167-9e7a-1a37bd8d6185

[3] https://thechickenwire.chick-fil-a.com/inside-chick-fil-a/secret-menus-and-closed-on-sundays-chick-fil-a-fact-or-fiction

[4] https://billygraham.org/story/a-conversation-with-truett-cathy

Other Sources:

http://www.academicstar.us/UploadFile/Picture/2015-7/20157331854318.pdf

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/311452

http://www.giantsforgod.com/s-truett-cathy/

https://www.thextraordinary.org/s-truett-cathy

Photo credits: http://www.pixhive.com; http://www.quotefancy.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.samiskelton.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.pxfuel.com.

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