Elisabeth Elliott's husband Jim was one of the martyred missionaries to Ecuador whose deaths spurred missionary activity in the mid twentieth century as well as birthing a move of God among the very tribe who killed the missionaries.

It's my understanding that Elisabeth Elliott's grandfather was acquainted with Lilias Trotter's work in Algeria, and that he actually visited her there. Elisabeth wrote a book called "Path Through Suffering" which was based on the writings of Miss Trotter. She also did some radio talks on Lilias Trotter which helped to bring her name to the attention of the Christian public. She actually read two of Lilias' books over the radio because she couldn't get any publishers interested in printing her works. Those two books, Parables of the Cross and Parables of the Christ Life are now back in print (see below) and selling well.

Miriam Huffman Rockness has seemingly left no stone unturned in her desire (shall I say passion) to see Lilias Trotter's life and works become known and valued in the current generation. Rockness confesses that her original intent was to see facsimile edtions of the Parables books come into print, but in order to do that, she knew she'd have to create a market for her works by publicizing her life. The firstfruits of her efforts to make Lilias known is a superb biography published by Discovery House called A Passion for the Impossible (see below). The book has been in print for several years and was recently reprinted. Although other biographies of Miss Trotter have been written, this is by far the most exhaustive and complete.

More recently, Miriam has put together a beautiful volume of Miss Trotter's writings and artwork and called it A Blossom in the Desert (see below). This is a beautiful hardback book full of devotional writings culled from Lilias' diaries, journals, and out-of-print books. The culmination of years of research, this wonderful book is a worthy tribute to the life and labors of one of Christ's "hidden ones."

As mentioned above, two of the books written by Lilias Trotter experienced a resurgence when Elisabeth Elliott read them over the radio and they were later published by Three Brothers Books. Both of these small books have been reprinted with full color reproductions of her original paintings.Deeply in touch with God, Lilias Trotter was also deeply in touch with nature and endued with a tremendous gift for drawing spiritual lessons from the natural world. She was also an exquisite artist. All these qualities combine in these two classic volumes Parables of the Christ Life and Parables of the Cross.

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As mentioned above, the inspiration for this biography was a desire to create a market for Lilias Trotter's writings by bringing her life before the Christian public. Mrs. Rockness has done a tremendous job of portraying the life of this faithful witness to Christ's love and power from a bygone era. Rockness explains that she found in Lilias' life an emphasis on "being"--a refreshing change from the modern preoccupation with "results." The books tells how without knowing the language and without the sponsorship of any organization, Lilias left her London home of comfort for a modest dwelling in Algeria, where her love of literature and art became dynamic tools for evangelism, and where her compassionate heart captured the hearts of the people. For forty years, despite frail health and many obstacles, Lilias devoted herself to missionary service among the people of Algeria through her lifestyle of love and encouragement.

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Compared to the other works listed above, this one is fairly expensive--but well worth it to the discerning reader! The exquisite paintings and deeply inspirational writings in A Blossom in the Desert are drawn from the extensive body of work Lilias Trotter left: devotional books and leaflets, journals and letters, and thirty astonishingly beautiful page-a-day diaries. Lilias believed God has two textbooks--Scripture and Creation--and she studied both. Day by day, decade upon decade, through the season of her life, Lilias recorded in watercolors and words her observations filtered through her heavenly vision: God working out His purposes on a land and in a people.

In her preface to this book, Miriam Huffman Rockness writes:

"Lilias painted and wrote in obscurity with no concern for fame or recognition. Yet there is no doubt that she would welcome the reader to 'come and look' at her writings and watercolors--with 'heartsight' as well as 'eyesight.' A Blossom in the Desert introduces to you the vision--visible and invisible--of the remarkable Lilias Trotter! Come. Look. See!

Buy A Blossom in the Desert now