The Non-Essentials of Life

One of my favorite parts of blogging here is sharing links to articles by missionaries who have a heart to pass on the lessons of their ministry to the next generation going to the field. These men and women are part of the "great cloud of witnesses" that surround us, compelling us to build on the foundations that have been laid and go further. So many have invested in my life, not even knowing it, just through the things they have written.

The article I'm linking to today, The Non-Essentials of Life, is by the late Mrs. Roberta Winter, a faithful missionary with her husband to the Mayan Indians, and later founders of Frontier Mission Fellowship, which spawned the US Center for World Missions. This is a lady I would have loved to have tea with for an afternoon and pepper her with questions. Her love for Jesus, for the lost, for total surrender, shines through her writing. This article was published in Mission Frontier magazine back in 1994. The 5-10 minutes it takes to read this article is well spent.

The Non-Essentials of Life is a whirlwind tour through significant milestones in the Winter's ministry that taught them 6 key principles of what things are "Essential" and what things are "Non-Essential" for living, both here, and on the mission field. She address questions that bothered me for years with clarity and balance. I learned so much from her gracious spirit. She puts down in writing principles I have seen lived out in the lives of many people with a missionary heart. Oh, that God would sharpen my vision for the "essentials" that I might run the race unhindered.

I hope you enjoy the article. Blessings in Christ...