If I had to choose one word to describe Elisabeth Elliot's lifestyle, it would be disciplined. She grew up in a very disciplined home, and she carried that with her into adulthood. "Discipline is the believer's answer to God's call," Elisabeth wrote in her book Discipline: The Glad Surrender. Her life illustrated an emphatic yes to that call.
Lars and Elisabeth traveled up to half the year for her speaking engagements, but when they were home, their days were very regimented. As Lars said, "A lot of people wouldn't want the life that we had." Here's what Elisabeth's "at home" schedule looked like:
4:50am — the alarm would go off, and Elisabeth would "luxuriate," as Lars put it, for 10 minutes
5:00am — Elisabeth would go into her study for her quiet time for an hour or so, and then she would get ready for the day and make breakfast.
8:00am —Elisabeth and Lars ate breakfast
After breakfast, Elisabeth would go into her study and write all morning
11:45am — Elisabeth would make lunch
Noon: Lunch was served
After lunch, Elisabeth would go back into her study and answer letters. (She received thousands and thousands of letters, and she responded to every one.)
3:00pm — Elisabeth and Lars would walk. "It was pretty much a daily deal," Lars said about the walk. "It didn't make much difference if it was raining or what!"
After their walk Elisabeth would read or do housework, and then she'd make dinner.
6:00pm —Dinner was served
After dinner, Lars would clean up so Elisabeth could play the piano.
8:30pm — Lars and Elisabeth got in bed and read
9:00pm — lights out
The next day — repeat!
Lars said Elisabeth was a good cook, and a healthy one too. She was very conscious about not being overweight. If she gained a half a pound when they were on the road, Lars said she'd take it right off when they returned home!
A meeting with student missionaries in the 1970’s in Urbana, Illinois. (Wheaton College)
In 1999, Elisabeth told Lars she was concerned because she had been putting cups in the wrong places. So she went to see a doctor.
The doctor told Elisabeth that she had dementia.
As time went on, things got progressively worse. In 2004 she stopped giving "talks," and her last book was published the same year. Her memory loss became more apparent, and she eventually lost the ability to speak. “She could say words sometimes,” Lars remembers, “but she couldn’t carry on a conversation.”
Lars took care of Elisabeth alone for ten years — until 2009 — and then he brought in extra help.
I asked Lars if Elisabeth was afraid of death, and his answer was as I expected: an emphatic no. I remember reading one of Elisabeth's books just a few weeks after she passed away, and this line gave me so much joy: "I don't mind getting old. Before the day began this morning I was looking out at starlight on a still, wintry sea. A little song we used to sing at camp came to mind —'Just one day nearer Home.' That idea thrills me" (On Asking God Why).
On June 15, 2015, Elisabeth went home. She was 88 years old. Here’s how Lars tells of the day of Elisabeth’s passing:
“Kea [one of Elisabeth’s caretakers] and I were with her at 1am when she suffered what appeared to be a massive stroke, and it was evident after this that her time with us was drawing to a close. Over the next 5 hours, Kea, Anna [another caretaker] and I continued reading and comforting Elisabeth with our hands, songs and prayers, with Valerie on speaker phone with us for some of the time; granddaughter Elisabeth rang from England and sang to her as well.
More than once, Elisabeth had told me if I ever came in and found her on the floor not to call 911, but just wait. Valerie and I agreed to follow this, and I also spoke to our doctor who confirmed this decision and told us how it would go. It was as he said, and nearing the end there was a quickening to the weakening breath.
At some point I had read aloud a poem Elisabeth used to often quote, “In Heavenly Love Abiding”, and as her breathing grew quieter I read it a second time. As I read the final line, Elisabeth opened her blue eyes once more, then closed them and with a slight smile became very still. I placed my hand on her lips, then checked for a pulse and said, “I believe she has left us,” and for the moment it was the sweetest of times at 6:15am on Monday the 15th.”
I often think of Elisabeth Elliot. All the suffering and pain she endured in this life are completely gone, and now she stands in the presence of pure love and joy. She has met her Reward, and I'm sure she'd tell all of us who have yet to meet Jesus face-to-face that He is more than worth any suffering we might experience here.
“I wonder if one of the reasons God doesn’t give us more clues about what heaven is going to be like is that we would never manage to keep our minds on our work if we knew. It would be like telling little children ahead of time where Christmas presents are hidden.”
And now she knows just what heaven is like, in all its glory. And she will for all of eternity.
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