Lisa Barry: As many of you know, Elisabeth Elliot was widowed at the age of 26 while trying to reach the Auca Indians with the Gospel. Her life has taken many twists and turns since then, but not much has been said about the time following her return to the States from Ecuador. After about 13 years of being a single mother, Elisabeth Elliot found herself facing another marriage proposal?only this time she had a teenage daughter to think about as well. We thought you might be curious about those years that aren?t talked about much?the years that included a learned man of God named Addison Leitch. And the best way to tell the story is through the eyes of a person who was actually there. You?ll find out who that is in just a minute. But for now, here?s Elisabeth as we begin this Monday edition of Gateway to Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That?s what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, and I have a happy surprise for some of you. But before I get to that, I just want to mention a couple of things that have come in my recent radio mail.

This one, I must say, staggered me. This lady says, "I have for some time wanted to write. This series was so important to me." I don?t remember what series it was she was talking about. "At other times, I have heard you talk about running the home. One thing that struck me was about using paper napkins and paper towels. What did they do before these things were developed? I can?t remember when they were developed, but I have found them to be very costly and I want to make a change in this area as well. Please let me know what was used back then."

Well, of course I?m old enough to know the answer to that. Very simply, when we didn?t have paper napkins and paper towels, we had linen or cotton napkins and cotton towels. Very simple, and I?m always trying to encourage women to be as economical as possible. I agree with you that they are very costly. Why should you buy paper towels when you can use a cloth or a rag to wipe up spills and things? Very simple, but please don?t any of you ever feel that you don?t dare ask me a question. I?m glad to try to answer your questions, and that one was quite easy for me.

Now the surprise is that my daughter is here with me. We?re in South Carolina now. Some of you know that Valerie and her family lived in California for ten years. They?re now in South Carolina. So I?ve come down and we have the opportunity to do some taping of radio programs together. Welcome to Gateway to Joy, Val.

Valerie Shepard: Thank you, Mama. I?m glad to be here.

Elisabeth Elliot: And Val had an idea that never would have crossed my mind, but she thought it would be nice for our listeners to hear a little bit about my second husband. You?ve probably heard about my first husband, Jim Elliot, who was killed way back in 1956. It wasn?t until 13 years later that the Lord sent along a second husband. His name was Addison Leitch. Val, tell us your remembrances.

Valerie Shepard: Well, I?ll start with when Mama announced to me that you were going to get married. I was 12, I think. We lived in New Hampshire. You had just been away on a trip. You came home and I had not seen you the night you came home, because I was already asleep.

But the next morning I went into your room to greet you. You had a mysterious and happy look in your eye. You said, "Valerie, what would you say to hear that I am going to get married?" I looked at you and thought about it and smiled. Then I said, "Really?" And you said, "But you must keep it a secret." I said, "For how long?" You said, "From now until January 1," when you had planned for your wedding day to be. This was in October of 1968. I thought, "Oh, how in the world am I going to keep it a secret?" I had of course a couple of very close girlfriends. But I promised my Mama that I would keep it a secret.

Sure enough, I got on the bus that morning to go to school. My best friend said, "Well, is your Mama married yet or is she going to get married yet?" I said, "No" and just left it at that. I was just shocked, dumbfounded, that somebody had brought it up so immediately after I had promised. Of course, she had no inkling that you had been to visit the man that you were going to marry.

Elisabeth Elliot: So it was just out of the blue that she asked the question.

Valerie Shepard: It was out of the blue.

Elisabeth Elliot: Of course, you were within rights when you said, "Well, no, she?s not getting married yet."

Valerie Shepard: She?s not getting married yet. Right. And I did keep it secret. On January 1, 1969 we went to New York City. I got to wear a pink silk dress. I was the only attendant in this lovely wedding. My mother?you wore a silk blue dress. I remember carrying one single long-stemmed pink rose. It was a very happy day.

But I remember thinking, watching when you first announced it to me, that you were so happy, so I must be happy, too. Not that I was dreading it, but I just couldn?t imagine such a thing, because of course I had not had a father since I was ten months old.

Elisabeth Elliot: Do you remember what you said to me when I told you that I was going to get married?

Valerie Shepard: I wanted to cry. I think I wanted to cry, but you said, "Why?" Or did I start crying right away?

Elisabeth Elliot: Well, you started to cry. I think you said something about, "Well, wasn?t that nice?" or something. But then I could see your eyes filled with tears. Then you went to your bedroom and you cried. I left you for a few minutes to cry. I didn?t want to invade your privacy. But I thought, "This is a pretty big thing for her to have to listen to. So I?ll just let her cry for a little bit."

Then I went in and I said, "Val, can you tell me why you?re crying?" What did you say?

Valerie Shepard: I said, "Well, I guess it?s not something that we can laugh about." Right?

Elisabeth Elliot: You said, "Well, it?s such a shock when something like this happens. You either laugh or cry."

Valerie Shepard: And I couldn?t laugh, right?

Elisabeth Elliot: And I said, "So that?s why you?re crying." And you said yes. And I think you tried to reassure me that it wasn?t because you were angry with me or wishing that I wouldn?t get married. In fact, gradually it was dawning on you that now you were going to have a Daddy. You said to me, "What will I call him?" I said, "What would you like to call him?"

Valerie Shepard: I said I would like to call him Daddy.

Elisabeth Elliot: You said, "Do you think he would mind?" I said, "I think he would be thrilled." Because he had three daughters. Addison Leitch?s first wife had died of cancer and he had three daughters, so he didn?t mind adding another one.

Valerie Shepard: Well, what I remember especially about that day was the joy of everyone else. Of course, since I was close to you and since I was an only child, I wanted your happiness and felt your happiness come through to me. I remember that, yes, it was a whole new life, but it was exciting to have a Daddy, because I had watched my friends who had Daddies and sometimes wished I?d had a Daddy. But I had never been resentful or terribly sad, that I can remember, that I didn?t have a Daddy. But I remember thinking once in a while, "It would be nice to have a Daddy." So the wedding day was a joyful day. I remember the reception at my uncle?s apartment in New York City and everybody being so joyful.

The wonderful thing about my stepfather?there were many wonderful things?but I think especially for me it was wonderful that God gave me a father figure for the years that I was a teenager. I needed that authority in my life. So from the time I was 13 until I was 18, he was alive. He died of cancer right after my freshman year of college.

But he was always very kind and solicitous to me. He had a great sense of humor, so I remember just loving listening to him talk.

Elisabeth Elliot: He had all kinds of funny stories.

Valerie Shepard: He had great stories to tell. I was used to sitting in living rooms with adults, because I was an only child. But especially from that time on, I remember sitting with new people, new friends that you had made because we moved from New Hampshire to Massachusetts and he became the professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. But I remember sitting in the living room listening to his stories and all of us laughing. I remember hearing him preach at different churches, a couple of different churches. I know he preached a lot, because he took?what is it called??pulpit supply.

One of the especially sweet kind things that he did for me was he would carry?of course, most men have some change in their pocket. But what he would do is often just hand me this change and say, "You could use a little bit of this, couldn?t you?" He would just take the change out of his pocket and give it to me. I remember just being so thrilled with that, even as a teenager.

Elisabeth Elliot: And he called it "walking around money." "I just want you to have a little walking around money."

Valerie Shepard: It was great. The other good thing that he taught me?I mean, he did teach me much, but I wish that I?d even learned much more, because as a young girl I was not very serious yet about the things of life, even though I knew that Jesus was my Savior. But one of the things that he taught me very practically was how to keep a checkbook, how to balance a checkbook, what to do with the money in the bank. He taught me exactly how to use money. He was the one that first had me open up a bank account.

The other thing was he taught me?and he of course called you a lady. He appreciated my mother being a lady. But he would tell me certain things about posture and standing straight on my feet, rather than sort of leaning out to the sides of my feet, which I often did. I would be washing the dishes in the kitchen and he?d come along through the kitchen and give me a little tap on the sides of my feet to remind me that I should stand straight on them.

Elisabeth Elliot: Like a lady.

Valerie Shepard: Like a lady. So I?m so thankful for those years with my stepfather. It is amazing in the providence of God that He would give you a husband during those years as I was a teenager, and of course a whole new life for you, since you had been a single mother and done things on your own. But you had a new husband to submit to and a new leader to look to.

Elisabeth Elliot: He was indeed a wonderful man. He had a doctorate from Cambridge University in England. But he was anything but stuffy?the last person in the world who cared whether anybody knew he was a Ph.D. Just an ordinary, down-to-earth, humble, godly man, who was God?s gift to me. Of course, I thought it was a miracle I got married the first time. I could not imagine ever being married a second time. Some of you listeners know that I am now married a third time. I?m hoping that this will be the last one. I hope that he will outlast me.

Well, thank you, Val, for being with me today. And tomorrow we?ll talk a little bit more about my second husband, Addison Leitch, who wrote eight books.

Lisa Barry: That we will. And Valerie will be joining us for the next two weeks, so make it a point to join us each day. Well, I?m sure as you listened today you were struck by the close family structure and the emphasis on developing godly character. And it reminds me that mature believers don?t just happen. They are shaped and molded through submission to God?people who have made daily time with God a priority.

If you?d like to model that kind of discipline, then here?s a book that will get you off on the right foot this new year. It?s called JOY AND STRENGTH. You?ll discover through each day?s practical suggestions that walking with God is much more attainable if you take it one step at a time.

The cost of the book is $11.50. You can send that, along with your request, to Gateway to Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free at 1-800-759-4JOY. Remember you can also order through our website. That address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway to Joy is a listener-supported production of Back to the Bible.

I hope you?ll join us again tomorrow when Valerie Shepard returns to talk about the death of her stepfather, Addison Leitch. That?s next time on Gateway to Joy.