Only a handful of people knew who Lettie Burd was; even to this day only a few know who she is.  But many know or at least have heard of the name Mrs. Charles E. Cowman through the devotional book she compiled, Streams in the Desert.  Lettie was married to Charles E. Cowman; felt called by God to be missionaries, they went to Bible School, then left for Japan in 1901.  There they worked with a Japanese evangelist they met in Chicago, Juji Nakada.  The three with Ernest Killbourne founded the Oriental Missionary Society. 

Lettie and Charles did not stay long in Japan; in 1917 they returned to the US due to Charles’ failing health.  For six years Lettie cared for him till he died.  Out of these heart-breaking experiences came this devotional book that has been the best-selling devotional book for decades. But here’s something noteworthy: She published under her married name, Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; she didn’t even use her first name!  Granted that it was common practice, then, but still, it shows her devotion to him.  By using her married name, it’s as if she wanted us to know not only that he and she were one, but also that this book was written by the two of them.  It’s their labor of love.

To me, her life, specifically her love and devotion, was a testament to the marriage vow we all utter: To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live.

Let me end with what she writes in the opening of the book, “In the pathway of faith we come to learn that the Lord’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways.  Both in the physical and spiritual realm, great pressure means great power.  Although circumstances may bring us into the place of death, that need not spell disaster—for if we trust in the Lord and wait patiently, that simply provides the occasion for the display of His almighty power.”

Pastor Paul