Five Years of Waiting
Jim Elliot and Elisabeth Howard met at Wheaton College in 1948. Their attraction was immediate, but Jim believed God was calling him to missions in Ecuador - a dangerous calling that might mean death.
For five years, they corresponded but remained uncommitted. Jim refused to pursue the relationship until he was certain it was God's will. Elisabeth waited, trusting God with her heart.
He Is No Fool
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose," Jim wrote in his journal during this time.
In 1953, Jim finally felt released by God to marry. They wed in Ecuador on October 8, 1953. Their marriage was deeply romantic, grounded in years of spiritual preparation.
Just three years later, Jim was killed by the Auca tribe he had gone to reach. Elisabeth was left a widow with a ten-month-old daughter.
A Love Story That Inspired Millions
But even in grief, she saw God's faithfulness. The years of waiting had prepared her heart. The letters they'd written became the book "Shadow of the Almighty." And eventually, Elisabeth returned to minister to the very tribe that killed her husband.
Their patient courtship, surrendered to God's timing, produced a love story that has inspired millions.
