I'm haunted by images Mary Anne Phemister described in her book, LESSONS FROM A BROKEN CHOPSTICK. If any woman has ever had a reason to throw a pity-party for how she was forced to grow up, Mary Anne is that woman. But she doesn't throw a pity-party. That action would be inconsistent with the brave and courageous Mary Anne whose persevering spirit defied life's hardships to break her emotionally, and destroy her spiritually. There are times I longed to reach inside the pages of her book, wrap my arms around her, and shelter her from the turmoil, upheavals, and uncertainty. Other times I wanted to grab her--whisk her away from her forced exile in a strange land. I wanted to join her, to walk alongside and simply be her friend.
Mary Anne touched a chord inside my soul. As I wrote a portion of a review of her book [link], I felt a need to say something more. I didn't know quite what. Between the lines that Mary Anne offers in her manuscript of memories, were spaces in which my thoughts and emotions ran rampant with questions. Questions for God. These questions led me to consider how God fills all the empty, loveless spaces of our lives with His unfathomable grace. Mary Anne's accounting challenged me once more as Job; how dare I question what God allows to those He calls according to His purposes?
You need to read Mary Anne's contribution to missionary life. See how our Sovereign Lord pours out His grace upon her and leads her to forgive, to love, and persevere. Perhaps you'll find, as I, God's unforsaking, unrelenting, all-sufficient power to carry a child through the difficulties of life when questions have no answers. May you find it as absorbing as I did. selahV
LESSONS FROM A BROKEN CHOPSTICK, by Mary Anne Phemister, Published by Hannibal Books.
