Author Madeleine L'Engle
"A Wrinkle In Time"
Published in 1962 - Winner of a Newberry Award.
When I was nine years old, I discovered a story that would change my life - the author has continued to mentor me throughout my life. The opening line "It was a dark and stormy night." begins a journey that I needed to take. I'm a P.K. (preacher's kid) and when I was in grade school we lived in Marlow, Oklahoma, in a Methodist parsonage behind the church which was located on Main Street. In the middle of the night we had a knock on the door to tell my father that one of the high school baseball players had been killed in a car accident. I remember realizing for the first time my own immortality. How could a person die at such a young age? A fear began to grip my heart...it was a dark and scary time. Then I read Madeleine L'Engle's book and felt myself relate to the main character, Meg Murray. In just a few pages I felt and sympathized with her struggles and worries. She became a heroine to me. In the chapter titled "The Foolish and The Weak" she is given an impossible task but before she is sent on her mission to rescue her brother she is given instruction by three ladies Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who & Mrs. Which:
"The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how than not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, no many noble, are called, but God had chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are nought things that are." 1 Corinthians 1:25
As a gradeschooler I knew little of scripture but I knew truth that resonated in my heart. A tiny seed was planted in my heart at a very early age. What I realized during reading this book that God can use even me. I knew at that moment that God was calling me to do something for Him that would confound the wise. I just didn't have a clue as to what that might be.
The three women advise Meg of the mystery of God. Until the time is right for Him to reveal His plans for us we cannot try to figure everything out. We couldn't because God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. In God's upside down economy He uses the most unlikely people to accomplish His work and that qualifies even me.
"But of course, we can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts." Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L'Engle.
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