Columba

Elizabeth Elliot, in her book Keep a Quiet Heart, shared a story told to her by Brenda Foltz of Princeton, Minnesota. Brenda was invited to go rock climbing for the first time in her life. While cautious about climbing, she could count on several seasoned climbers to assist her. She put on the climbing gear, took hold of the rope, and started up the face of the rock. The safety robe suddenly snapped back, hitting her in her eye and dislodging a contact lens. Everything became blurry for Brenda at this critical point in the climb. She prayed for calm to find her contact lens and ran her hand along the surface of the rock, hoping to find it, to no avail. With assistance from fellow climbers, she was able to reach the summit. A friend examined Brenda’s eye and clothing for the lens, but there was no trace of it. As they made their way down the cliff, they were met by another group of climbers who were beginning their ascent. One hollered in their direction, “Hey, did anyone lose a contact lens?” Incredibly, a climber had located it. What was even more remarkable was that he happened to see an ant carrying it slowly across the face of the rock. Brenda recounted this remarkable story to her father, who was a caricature cartoonist. He sketched a picture of an ant carrying a contact lens on his back with the caption: “Lord, I don’t know why you want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do. I’ll carry it for you.” When it comes to carrying our burdens, hear Jesus’ words of assurance, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11.28). We are led in prayer today by Columba, a 6thcentury missionary to Ireland and Scotland: