What it Costs

"'Mr. St. John, I'd give the world to know the Bible as you do,' said a lady to him at the close of a meeting.

"'Madam,' he replied, 'that's just what it costs.'

"But he always stressed that the Bible is never an end in itself. It is the path by which you reach Christ, and he never considered any study really worthwhile unless it affected one's daily conduct in a practical way."

- From the autobiography of Patricia St. John: An Ordinary Woman's Extraordinary Faith

No wonder this ordinary woman lived an extraordinary life! She learned to follow in the deep faith of her parents, making it her own more and more as she grew from a wild and spunky child to a determined and courageous, yet compassionate, woman. 

Having read several of her children's books years ago (and re-read a couple while on the couch with chronic illness), I was still surprised and challenged by this widely varied life-story. As we hear, the best fiction comes from an author's life experience... and Patricia's life was full of experience! 

From Brazil to England to Switzerland to Morocco (with visits to more of Africa, Palestine, America...) Patricia lived out Elisabeth Elliot's motto: "Do the Next Thing." She followed God's leading wherever she was needed - whether that meant years of caring for elderly family members or feeding street-boys in a mountain village.

Her books came now and then when she wanted to touch the lives of hurting and lonely children with the Truth.

And while I have not read any of them yet, she also wrote biographies and records of God at work through specific ministries around the world.