Thank You, Edith

Edith Schaeffer (1914–2013) is one of my heroes. Although I only met her once, her life and her writing have had a profound influence on me.

Thank you, Edith. Thank you for convincing me that I didn’t need money or formal artistic training to bring our Creator’s beauty into that barren efficiency apartment where Ray and I began our marriage. A basket of fresh seasonal fruit on our table throughout the years since then reminds me of what you displayed for me in The Hidden Art of Homemaking. You helped me see creation in a new way.

Thank you, Edith. Thank you for teaching me how precious a family is in What Is a Family? Thank you for showing me that children understand compassion and comfort when they receive compassion and comfort first and foremost in the family setting. Thank you for showing me the beauty of making memories and building traditions. Thank you for giving me the freedom to “lock our door” when our kids needed our undivided attention. Thank you for showing me a family is worth all the time, energy, and hard work it takes to build this treasure. My family owes you.

Thank you, Edith. Thank you for guiding me in how to think biblically about the reality of pain and suffering in my life. Thank you for showing me that God’s answer to my prayers for deliverance can be just as much a victory when He gives me the faith to patiently bear up under it with grace as when He completely removes this trial from my life. Thank you for continuing to trust God in all the afflictions in your own life. You helped build my love and trust in God.

“The victory for God against Satan is when—one by one—God’s people continue to love Him and trust Him in the midst of unchanging circumstances” (Affliction).

Thank you, Edith. Thank you for reminding me that the life of faith is a life which accepts the mysteries of God without demanding they all be explained to my satisfaction and in my timing. Thank you for helping me see and feel things from heaven’s perspective through The Tapestry.

Thank you, Edith. I honor you.

“The memory of the righteous is a blessing” (Prov. 10:7).

How about you? Who are some of your heroes? What have they taught you? How have they helped you follow Christ with all your heart?