Rose McCormick Brandon
Since my 3 children are now adults, I have a den. The walls are painted Tropical Forest (Benjamin Moore), a futon is covered in the same color, the curtains and matching pillows are black and white toile - I'm fond of toile in all colours. One wall is lined with books - many translations and paraphrases of the Bible, one whole shelf of Agatha Christie mysteries, another of childrens' books, some owned by my husband's father when he was a child. The rest are filled with devotionals, biographies, books on writing, dictionaries, magazines and mystery novels.
The writings of Catherine Marshall and the adventures of Corrie ten Boom made an early impression on me. I've re-read their books many times and find myself telling their stories and quoting them often at speaking engagements. I also ate up the works of Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth, Canadian missionaries who went to China in the late 1890s. Rosalind's book Climbing is a masterpiece. In another book, By My Spirit, Jonathan writes his first-hand account of an amazing revival.
As a leader in a international ministry to women, I met Mary Goforth Moynan (Jonathan & Rosalind's daughter) and invited her to speak three times. She gave me copies of her parent's books and never failed to inspire audiences with her stories. Mary's son Fred lives only a few blocks from us (Mary passed away several years ago). One day Fred knocked on our door and gave me a very old copy of one of his grandparents' books.
Works by C. S. Lewis and Mark Twain, two of the world's best writers, also sit on my book shelf. But not all my favorite writers come from other centuries. Philip Yancey and Charles Swindoll also touch my soul and raise my gaze toward Heaven. And when it comes to devotional reading no one betters Selwyn Hughes. (Hughes passed away 2 years but daily readings from his words continue.) Canadian Peter Robinson and British writer P. D. James best satisfy my hunger for mysteries. Because of my Irish roots, I love the cadence and humor of Maeve Binchy and Frank McCourt.
When I was growing up I hated church and lived for the day my mother would say - "You're old enough to make up your own mind about it - go or don't go, it's up to you." At age 14, I'm guessing just a few months before Mom would've said those words, my church-crazy cousin moved to town and urged me to join her for an evening service. Afterwards the young pastor's wife asked, "Would you like to receive Jesus as your personal Savior?" If she'd said, "Would you like to be a member of this church?" I would've said NO and bolted for the door. I hated religion, (and still do) but I didn't hate Jesus.
I said yes. The two of us prayed a simple prayer, one that changed my life forever. My journey with Jesus has had its ups and downs - for 5 years in my 20s I took another path - but something that I can only describe as a light going on in my teenage soul happened that day. Since then, if I wander from Jesus, I miss Him and return because I know He is the One for me.
Rose McCormick Brandon
