The Power of Encouragement

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Yesterday’s post ended with Mimosa caring for her husband who had gone blind and mad as the result of a snakebite.

The setting of scene 12 of He Is Near is at Dohnavur Fellowship. The scene opens with the accals singing the prayer, “Save the Children,” written by Amy Carmichael.

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When all of the accals leave except for Star, Star tells Amy about the sad news she has learned about her sister Mimosa’s hard life and about her husband’s disabilities after his snakebite.

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Amy laments that she had such a short time many years before to teach Mimosa about God. Star decides to write Mimosa a letter. She knows Mimosa can’t read and wonders who she could get to read it to her, but she decides to write to her anyway. Star prays that God will incline someone’s heart to read Mimosa the letter.

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Back at Mimosa’s home, she and her sons Kinglet and Rahava, whom she has taught about God since birth, sing the theme song, “He Is Near,” . . .

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. . . while Amy and Star sing it far away at Dohnavur Fellowship.

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Mimosa’s husband Deva, who has by this time healed from his madness and blindness, emerges from the house, ranting about how Mimosa could possibly trust in her God, after all the bad things that have happened to them.

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When Deva leaves, Mimosa has an unexpected visitor. An old woman, who is also a believer in God, has heard about Mimosa’s faith. She has sought Mimosa out, simply to encourage her. She tells Mimosa that God has never forsaken her and that He will never forsake Mimosa. She assures her, “He will wonderfully lead you.”

When the old woman leaves, Kinglet says to his mother, “We are not the only ones who believe in our God, are we, Mother?” and asks her, “Will He really never ever forsake us?”

Mimosa assures him, “Never ever!”

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Soon Mimosa’s cousin enters, carrying the letter from her sister Star.

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When Mimosa tells him that she cannot read, he reads the letter to her:

Dear Sister, I write this letter in hopes that it reaches you and trusting that a kindly person may be found who will read the words to you. I have heard that you are in bitter distress and that your life is full of heartache. I want you to be assured that you have a Father in heaven who cares about you and wants you as His child. There is a song written in His book that says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord!

“Wait for the Lord,” repeats Mimosa. “I will.”

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Mimosa and her sons marvel over this priceless treasure, a letter from Star with words of sweet encouragement.

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Star’s sweet words of encouragement include excerpts from Psalm 27. Every heart needs encouragement: your heart, the heart of your husband, the hearts of your children, the hearts of your parents and siblings, and the hearts of everyone you meet.

Encouragement is one of the most powerful tools you have in your homeschool (and family and life) toolkit.

Therefore encourage one another
and build up one another,
just as you also are doing . . . .
We urge you, brethren,
admonish the unruly,
encourage the fainthearted,
help the weak,
be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:11, 14

This post is the fifth in a series about the play He Is Near, performed by the Homeschool Dramatic Society in mid-September. You can read the other posts in this series at these links: first, second, third, fourth.

He Is Near is based on Mimosa by Amy Carmichael, © 1924 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; Gold Cord by Amy Carmichael, © 1932 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank L. Houghton, © 1953 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; and Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael, ©1999 by The Dohnavur Fellowship. Used by permission of CLC Publications. For more information about Amy Carmichael and The Dohnavur Fellowship, or to purchase her books, visit clcpublications.com.

 

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