“Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.  Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”  Isaiah 35:6

For the past 5 years, I have co-led a GriefShare group for those who have lost loved ones.  The group was a huge help to me through my journey with grief after my husband went Home.  We meet for a 14-week cycle and at the end, we celebrate with a “party” at a local restaurant.  This time, I gave each member a nicely wrapped gift of one of my favorite devotionals, “Streams in the Desert.”  Mine is a well-worn book, with underlining, notations, exclamation marks, and thoughts from my husband in his last illness, then later, my thoughts when I grieved his death.  It’s a treasure trove for me!  When I read it, I feel him speaking to me!  I thought it would be a treasure for my friends, but little did I know, how much!

Last Sunday, three of the groups’ members came up to me after church to tell me how much they were enjoying the devotional, and how it spoke to their heart.  That morning, April 10, really convicted me: “O tested soul, perhaps the Lord is sending you through this trial to develop your gifts.  You have some gifts that would never have been discovered if not for trials….. hope is like the stars – unseen in the sunshine of prosperity and only discovered during a night of adversity….. God trains His soldiers not in tents of ease and luxury but by causing them to endure lengthy marches and difficult service.  He makes them wade across streams, swim through rivers, climb mountains, and walk many tiring miles with heavy backpacks.”  This reminds me of the grief journey some of us walk on.  It wasn’t what we chose, but what God chose for us!  God can change grieving into rejoicing!

Streams in the Desert was written by Lettie Burd Cowman (1870-1960), an American author and missionary who published her book in 1925, one year after her husband’s death.  She wrote five other devotionals, but Streams is her most popular work.  No one expected success at the time of publication.  In fact, the publisher planned to print only 3,000 copies.  But God had other plans!  No one really knows how many copies have sold, but “Streams” is now available in several editions and languages.  It is considered one of the finest devotionals ever written, and the author gave all credit to God.  She said, “I did not write Streams, God gave me Streams.” And He continues to encourage people around the world through her words.

Charles Cowman was Lettie’s childhood sweetheart.  The two married in 1889 and soon after, left America to serve as missionaries in Japan.  They founded the Oriental Mission Society, today, it bears the name “One Mission Society,” with the motto “One Lord.  One life.  One calling.”  With the help of friends, they opened two Bible institutes and began a Village Campaign to reach every Japanese home with the gospel.  They managed to reach 60 million people before Charles became ill and they had to return to America.  In 1924, Charles had a stroke and died.

After her husband’s death, Lettie continued the work they started in Japan.  Later, she expanded their outreach to Africa, South America, Cuba, and Eastern Europe.  Before her death in 1960, this extraordinary woman wrote five more devotionals as well as her husband’s biography.  “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.  Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”  Psalms 126:5-6.

Your friend, Jean