A Joyful Servant - with Margaret Lutley

Margaret Lutley is "a joyous, strong, independent, outgoing, grateful, loving, servant leader who has also faced many struggles including several bouts with breast cancer, loneliness, burnout, and living single. Margaret is unapologetically Christian and carries a deep, abiding faith in God which is apparent to all who have had the good fortune of knowing her." And we have her on the show this week! Hear her amazing story of a life well-lived; one she is still living!

Margaret's book: Joy of Serving

Margaret's Willowdale Testimony 

@thisistrustworthy

trustworthypodcast.com

Email us listen@trustworthypodcast.com

Transcript

0.760000 3.120000 Is God trustworthy?
3.120000 5.380000 Hi, I'm Sarah.
5.380000 7.220000 And I'm Mary Beth.
7.220000 9.600000 Join us as we seek to answer this question
9.600000 12.500000 through whole-hearted conversation.
12.500000 15.000000 Discover the wit and wisdom that comes
15.000000 18.600000 for being anchored in Christ and connected to one another.
18.600000 20.820000 This is trustworthy.
20.820000 23.400000 (gentle music)
23.400000 28.000000 Well, hello there, Margaret Lutley.
28.000000 29.640000 How are you today?
29.640000 31.500000 I am doing fantastic.
31.500000 35.200000 We have just enjoyed a delicious coffee drink
35.200000 38.700000 from the special coffee machine that has been referenced.
38.700000 40.700000 I believe on previous episodes.
40.700000 41.700000 Yes.
41.700000 42.700000 Absolutely.
42.700000 44.700000 Yeah, so we did that.
44.700000 45.700000 And we have a lot of fun.
45.700000 46.700000 We have a lot of fun.
46.700000 47.700000 And we have a lot of fun.
52.700000 55.500000 And we also have someone else here with us.
55.500000 57.000000 I think she just chimed in.
57.000000 58.000000 Mary Beth.
58.000000 59.000000 It's me.
59.000000 60.000000 I'm here.
60.000000 61.000000 Yes.
61.000000 62.000000 Of course you are.
62.000000 63.000000 Because it's time for trustworthy.
63.000000 64.000000 Yes, it is.
64.000000 66.000000 But today we're even more excited.
66.000000 69.000000 Because we get to interview more very excited.
69.000000 70.000000 Yes.
70.000000 72.500000 We had to reschedule because kids got sick.
72.500000 74.500000 Which happens in this life.
74.500000 76.500000 But we're very happy to have you here today.
76.500000 77.500000 Thank you.
77.500000 81.000000 And privilege made to me.
81.000000 82.500000 Not just for the coffee, right?
82.500000 83.500000 No.
83.500000 87.100000 For the company and the conversation.
87.100000 88.100000 Wait a minute.
88.100000 90.900000 Coffee, company and conversation.
90.900000 95.100000 Those three words start with C and Christ.
95.100000 97.900000 Christ in and through everything.
97.900000 98.900000 Yes.
98.900000 102.300000 One of my favorite prayers is the St. Patrick's Breast Plate.
102.300000 103.300000 Christ before me.
103.300000 104.300000 Christ behind me.
104.300000 105.300000 Christ beside me.
105.300000 106.300000 Christ when I lie down.
106.300000 107.300000 Christ when I get up.
107.300000 108.300000 Amen.
108.300000 109.300000 Amen.
109.300000 118.780000 When I think about your life, Margaret, I think that prayer is apt because looking backward
118.780000 123.300000 because we're looking backward in time over the life that you live so far.
123.300000 128.900000 It is so evident that Christ has been with you and has been your sustainer.
128.900000 131.220000 Has been your constant companion.
131.220000 136.220000 So a little bit about Margaret before we get too far down this road, she is our friend.
136.220000 142.220000 We know her from our church, but there's a lot more to the story.
142.220000 145.060000 Mary Beth, I think has a brief biography.
145.060000 146.060000 Yeah.
146.060000 151.260000 So Margaret has a book that all you can find on Amazon called Joy of Serving.
151.260000 154.180000 So this is a line from the description of you.
154.180000 155.180000 I'm going to read this to you.
155.180000 156.940000 Hope it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable.
156.940000 163.380000 But it says that Margaret is a joyous, strong, independent, outgoing, grateful, loving servant
163.380000 169.140000 leader who has also faced many struggles, including several bouts with breast cancer, loneliness,
169.140000 171.300000 burnout, and living single.
171.300000 175.740000 Margaret is unapologetically Christian and carries a deep abiding faith in God, which is
175.740000 179.940000 apparent to all who have had the good fortune of knowing her.
179.940000 182.460000 Do you feel like that accurately describes you, Margaret?
182.460000 184.620000 How do you feel here and all that?
184.620000 185.620000 Scary.
185.620000 190.260000 I don't think there's anything inaccurate in there.
190.260000 191.860000 But Christ is much more.
191.860000 192.860000 Yes.
192.860000 197.180000 That I may decrease and he may increase to on the Baptist.
197.180000 198.180000 Yes.
198.551519 205.211519 There's a picture of you with the Scotland team from your youth, yes, from your lacrosse
205.211519 207.511519 playing days.
207.511519 211.871519 And we are several decades removed from that time.
211.871519 219.031519 And when you think about that when you think about those days, does it feel like it was just
219.031519 220.031519 yesterday?
220.031519 230.031519 No, but while I was doing the international games playing for them, the challenge was to
230.031519 235.811519 train every day, running around the streets of St Andrews.
235.811519 242.791519 And in one sense, my life has been like that, the training, the marathon, or down the
242.791519 246.031519 60 years since then.
246.031519 251.871519 So it was a good discipline to kind of start out that way, man, when you didn't feel like
251.871519 262.091519 running at all, you did it anyway, the discipline that have it of doing that each day to have the
262.091519 267.151519 stamina in a lacrosse game, because we didn't have subs.
267.151519 270.471519 You had to play the old 90 minutes.
270.471519 271.971519 Wow.
271.971519 275.071519 I think Sarah, the wheels are already turning.
275.071519 276.911519 There's so many things we could talk to Margaret about.
276.911519 282.031519 We might need to have her back just to talk about I lacrosse in St Andrews, because that wasn't
282.031519 287.711519 even going to be the focus of this conversation, but there's so much we could talk about.
287.711519 292.791519 Well, so one of the things that we know about you is that you went on the mission field.
292.791519 296.831519 So we would love to hear, how did that happen?
296.831519 298.391519 What stage of life was that?
298.391519 303.391519 And how did you make the decision to do that when I had the privilege of teaching in
303.391519 305.431519 England in Yorkshire?
305.431519 307.831519 And that was great fun, and I loved that.
307.831519 315.671519 But then I sensed there was a call to teach maybe in Peru, and I could just do it.
315.671519 316.871519 Not as a missionary.
316.871519 321.031519 I just wanted to go without being a missionary.
321.031519 323.911519 I didn't want the stigma of a missionary.
323.911519 332.431519 So then I met somebody from Peru and I thought, okay, let's go to Lima, Peru.
332.431519 339.591519 But then my goddaughter's mother said, have you considered Sam's South American missionaries
339.591519 348.551519 at that mission started with Alan Gardner dying of starvation, trying to take the gospel
348.551519 353.431519 to the Indians in the south of Chile?
353.431519 361.551519 And that challenged me to go to what I thought was going to be Argentina.
361.551519 367.551519 But in the end I ended up coming off the ship and staying in Chile.
367.551519 373.631519 But before that I felt, no, I wasn't worthy to go.
373.631519 380.511519 And so even though I had been accepted by the mission and was on my way, I suddenly felt
380.511519 382.471519 I should resign.
382.471519 387.031519 And I got my resignation, ready the next Monday.
387.031519 392.511519 But on that Sunday I was on a double decker bus reading a tract.
392.511519 400.031519 And it had John 20 in it as father has sent me so send that you.
400.031519 401.951519 It had acts go.
401.951519 404.831519 I will send you far hence.
404.831519 409.711519 And so those were my commissioning verses.
409.711519 413.111519 And so I didn't resign that Monday.
413.111519 414.831519 I went to the mission fields.
414.831519 416.431519 And how old were you at that time?
416.431519 418.751519 I was 26.
418.751519 419.751519 OK.
419.751519 421.991519 And you mentioned you got off the ship.
421.991519 424.671519 What was that trip like from England to South America?
424.671519 425.671519 It was a holiday.
425.671519 426.671519 Yeah.
426.671519 434.231519 I was having a wonderful time on this merchant marine ship that was stopping at all the port.
434.231519 440.831519 And so I could get off the ports and visit like different countries, Colombia and Peru.
440.831519 444.471519 And it was a great fun.
444.471519 451.831519 We had just been talking about your training for the international lacrosse games.
451.831519 455.431519 And you said you just had to keep running around the streets whether you felt like it
455.431519 461.391519 or not, the connection to not feeling like doing it.
461.391519 463.151519 I didn't want to be a missionary.
463.151519 465.551519 I didn't want that stigma.
465.551519 469.111519 Why is it that we always have to do the things that we don't want to do when we're obedient
469.111519 470.111519 to Christ.
470.111519 475.831519 And you were like, oh, I think I'm going to resign, but you didn't.
475.831519 478.511519 You continued the training, so to speak.
478.511519 480.831519 You turned the corner and ran down another street.
480.831519 481.831519 Yeah.
481.831519 488.271519 And so when I got off the ship, I felt as if I was coming home, home was chilly.
488.271519 491.951519 And home was chilly for the next many, many years.
491.951519 494.271519 And were you by yourself?
494.271519 495.271519 You went by yourself.
495.271519 496.271519 Yeah.
496.271519 497.271519 And you didn't know.
497.271519 498.271519 Did you know anyone that was there?
498.271519 499.271519 I met them on the ship.
499.271519 502.991519 And they were actually going to Chile as well.
502.991519 509.591519 It made me met them in one farewell service, but that was all.
509.591519 513.191519 And then once you were there, was it teaching work that you were doing or was it so different?
513.191519 522.111519 I was teaching, but also helping start little churches on the hillsides in the poorer areas.
522.111519 525.871519 What they call in other parts of South America, the falabellas.
525.871519 529.751519 They were just very poor areas.
529.751519 536.391519 Often we had to face the earthquakes, or the five earthquakes while I was in Chile.
536.391519 543.271519 So those earthquakes affected the poor people even more than us.
543.271519 549.311519 And then we had to rebuild classrooms as well of the school I was working.
549.311519 559.791519 It was in '66 and then in '71 and '73, lots of different rebuildings of classrooms, originally
559.791519 561.951519 there were Adobe ones.
561.951519 567.991519 And then we had to use cement, grease blocks to rebuild each earthquake.
567.991519 570.991519 Those would typically collapse and you'd have to start fresh.
570.991519 571.991519 Yes.
571.991519 577.871519 Well, I believe there's some pictures in your book that show the holding a piece of Adobe.
577.871519 578.871519 Yes.
578.871519 587.911519 As I was thinking about missions, I've only done short term week, 10 day trips.
587.911519 591.711519 You mentioned kind of this feeling of coming home and you're there.
591.711519 596.711519 There is an intangible connection that all believers have, right?
596.711519 597.711519 That's right.
597.711519 601.191519 And so I think when, even when I've gone on these short term trips, it's when you have
601.191519 607.271519 that focus of mission and purpose, a lot of the things that would be differences, kind
607.271519 609.391519 of don't matter as much.
609.391519 611.711519 You live there for quite a while.
611.711519 614.231519 How did you kind of adapt?
614.231519 618.831519 What were the challenges that you faced when you went there knowing that you knew where
618.831519 620.351519 God wanted you to be?
620.351519 621.351519 Yes.
621.351519 627.991519 I think that for me, probably it was easier in one way because I had a regular job and I
627.991519 631.591519 had the job of helping on the hills.
631.591519 635.511519 So I had the joy of serving all the time.
635.511519 643.031519 But I think that the danger, obviously, was that I got over occupied and didn't look after
643.031519 644.031519 myself.
644.031519 652.711519 But even just recently when I went to England, I was in the airport at Philadelphia.
652.711519 660.791519 And I met a lovely Ethiopian Christian who was serving there as a waitress.
660.791519 669.671519 And I was just amazed and we began talking and she said, yes, we have the same dad.
669.671519 676.511519 That spoke to me that it doesn't matter where we are, we have the same dad.
676.511519 678.111519 That is beautiful.
678.111519 679.111519 And it's so true.
679.111519 684.951519 There is something that you can't, there is no other explanation other than that connection
684.951519 689.031519 of the Holy Spirit among believers.
689.031519 691.311519 That's an interesting thought to me.
691.311519 698.231519 If we all have the same dad, then the people that you have spent your life ministering to,
698.231519 701.511519 you were just trying to be their brother and sister.
701.511519 702.511519 That's right.
702.511519 705.351519 You were trying to introduce them to your father.
705.351519 706.351519 Yes.
706.351519 715.191519 And in one sense, it seems looking back a little bit easier because I knew Spanish and just
715.191519 717.191519 relating to them.
717.191519 724.551519 It's been easier than the present challenge where I am in this old people's home, where people
724.551519 729.191519 are set in their ways and aren't interested in Jesus.
729.191519 736.591519 In fact, of the 400 people there, I think I'm the only one with a little sign that says,
736.591519 738.431519 we love Jesus.
738.431519 743.631519 Nobody else has dared to put Jesus on anything.
743.631519 752.951519 But I wonder if that is because this is a facility in a relatively well-to-do area that is people
752.951519 756.591519 are insulated from a lot of that everyday cares.
756.591519 763.391519 I think about the times in my life when I didn't live in a place like I live now and I didn't
763.391519 767.622540 have a fancy coffee maker and God, He met my needs.
767.622540 771.662540 But I knew He was meeting my needs because I didn't know where the next grocery border
771.662540 772.982540 was coming from.
772.982540 777.902540 And I think it's, I have to be very careful here.
777.902540 780.422540 So stay with me listeners.
780.422540 784.062540 Sometimes adversity is a, well, yeah, I'll say it.
784.062540 788.942540 Adversity is a gift, especially when it leads us closer to the Lord.
788.942540 789.942540 Yes.
789.942540 796.482540 But I think you need to be patient in the wilderness because sometimes the wilderness
796.482540 800.142540 lasts longer than you want.
800.142540 804.422540 Do you feel like you're in a wilderness now at this point in your life?
804.422540 805.422540 Yes.
805.422540 814.662540 I would say yes, because one continues to long to see people come to know Jesus.
814.662540 822.542540 And it's lovely that it's happening at church, but it isn't happening in my neighborhood.
822.542540 830.942540 And so maybe people are more open in the poverty on the hillside than they are when they've got
830.942540 831.942540 everything.
831.942540 833.342540 We've got everything.
833.342540 835.862540 We do have everything.
835.862540 838.382540 It is so easy to forget where we got it from.
838.382540 839.382540 Yes.
839.382540 841.062540 It makes us more self reliant.
841.062540 842.062540 Yeah.
842.062540 843.782540 I mean, hey, that's a good old American way.
843.782540 844.782540 We can do it.
844.782540 845.782540 We're independent.
845.782540 848.582540 But I was thinking about this recently because here in Southern Tester County, we're sort
848.582540 854.742540 of steeped in a lot of revolutionary history, but the thing is is that when the Americans fought
854.742540 861.102540 for their independence from England, it was this whole spirit of independence.
861.102540 868.262540 But yet the colonists were united and people didn't set up this independent nation on our
868.262540 869.262540 own.
869.262540 870.582540 No one person did it.
870.582540 871.582540 It was a group of people.
871.582540 878.182540 So I think sometimes we take individualism a little too far and become a little too self reliant.
878.182540 883.222540 And as Christians, we know that we're instructed to be in community.
883.222540 886.402540 It is how God designed us for relationship with others.
886.402540 890.302540 And this is how God loves us, I believe, is through other people.
890.302540 894.542540 This sort of leads me to another thought or question that I had.
894.542540 895.542540 Your mom was American.
895.542540 896.702540 Your father was English.
896.702540 899.882540 They were missionaries to China where you were born.
899.882540 901.742540 And then you lived in China.
901.742540 903.342540 You lived in England.
903.342540 905.622540 You lived in Scotland.
905.622540 907.382540 You lived in South America in the States.
907.382540 909.622540 You lived a lot of different places.
909.622540 918.182540 And I think about how we are citizens of a country, but we're part of the kingdom of God.
918.182540 920.782540 So we're really citizens of heaven.
920.782540 927.182540 And so this is sort of a long lead up to a question that Mary Beth kind of touched on before.
927.182540 933.102540 But how have you been able to make community and build a family and all these different
933.102540 936.142540 places that you've lived?
936.142540 946.916780 And I think part of it is that I feel part of five countries, heaven, China, Chile, the
946.916780 950.716780 US, and the community I'm in now.
950.716780 957.916780 I think that in one sense, it's easier for me because I can follow what's going on in
957.916780 963.916780 these different countries, but some people may get frustrated with me because I don't
963.916780 971.436780 go into so much the politics and everything of where I'm living because I feel I'm part
971.436780 972.996780 of the world.
972.996780 977.356780 So you have never been married, correct?
977.356780 982.676780 But there is a little bit of an interesting story in your background of where maybe that
982.676780 984.916780 could have happened at some point.
984.916780 988.756780 How did you make those intentional decisions?
988.756780 995.116780 And did you feel that singleness was a calling for you or was it just kind of how things happened?
995.116780 999.316780 No, I didn't feel it was a calling.
999.316780 1005.716780 But I didn't, even though somebody wanted to marry me when I was teaching, I didn't really
1005.716780 1007.356780 love him.
1007.356780 1013.196780 And I think I wanted more than that at that time.
1013.196780 1019.596780 What was fun though, when I came back to the state's age 50, everybody wanted, the friends
1019.596780 1026.796780 wanted to marry me off to this pastor and this guy and that, you know, I did go out for
1026.796780 1033.876780 a while with a very nice Christian, but he'd been married and widowed and really he was
1033.876780 1040.276780 older and it wasn't right to pursue a fee didn't want marriage.
1040.276780 1047.396780 I felt that if I wanted to relationship, I wanted to lead towards marriage rather than
1047.396780 1048.836780 just be friends.
1048.836780 1050.556780 That makes sense.
1050.556780 1056.316780 As Sarah was asking about just building community in these different places, you mentioned
1056.316780 1059.316780 kind of seasons of loneliness throughout your life.
1059.316780 1067.196780 How have you seen God bring community to you or in the times where it has been lonely?
1067.196780 1070.196780 How has that changed your relationship with God?
1070.196780 1078.316780 Yes, I think that the loneliness was especially challenging after the burnout because I'd
1078.316780 1088.596780 been busy doing three and four jobs as a missionary and therefore to stop all of those jobs
1088.596780 1091.400499 and that was a lonely time.
1091.400499 1097.920499 And I think because I was suffering from some amnesia, I didn't always fully realize what
1097.920499 1099.320499 was going on.
1099.320499 1107.520499 They called it burnout or a sermon urge, but I think that probably the next period that
1107.520499 1114.725941 has been challenging with loneliness is where I'm not right now because my best friend in
1114.725941 1122.405941 England died and that we used to talk Saturday mornings, I think that loneliness can come
1122.405941 1127.965941 and go or be more acute at certain periods.
1127.965941 1135.045941 It isn't something I've felt all the way along because I had the joy of serving and doing
1135.045941 1139.605941 lots too and making friends in different places.
1139.605941 1147.685941 You know, I think any of us are at risk of loneliness at any time and I would also say especially
1147.685941 1153.311927 today in the United States as we talked about earlier, there's such a focus on self and
1153.311927 1160.560408 Yes, that there has been this loss of the value of community and I mean, I've experienced
1160.560408 1165.080408 times of loneliness especially, I think we talked about this maybe on a previous episode.
1165.080408 1170.160408 When we first moved here and we didn't know anyone and I had a baby and I was pregnant and
1170.160408 1175.280408 it was hard and you know, some of that has to do with personality and circumstance and
1175.280408 1179.720408 all those things, but I like what you said that, you know, loneliness can kind of come and
1179.720408 1180.720408 go.
1180.720408 1184.560408 And when you're in it, you don't always see the end of the tunnel.
1184.560408 1190.520408 I remember Billy Graham talked about the loneliness of the cement jungle talking of New
1190.520408 1197.960408 York City, how people can be in community but very lonely and I think that doesn't matter
1197.960408 1206.000408 where you are, you can base loneliness in marriage, in death, in everything.
1206.000408 1207.960408 And so how did you combat that?
1207.960408 1211.400408 How did your seasons of loneliness end?
1211.400408 1217.840408 I think in theory, trying to seek the Lord in each circumstance, but I wasn't always
1217.840408 1220.840408 obedient in doing that.
1220.840408 1231.280408 Sometimes you prefer to hibernate or turn in, so I can't say, I practice what I preach.
1231.280408 1232.280408 That's fair.
1232.280408 1236.800408 I'll say this again, dear listeners, we're not experts on anything, we just like to talk
1236.800408 1237.800408 about it.
1237.800408 1242.680408 So I think the more talk we do, sometimes that's helpful.
1242.680408 1243.680408 Yeah.
1243.680408 1246.440408 We need to face the issues in our lives.
1246.440408 1247.440408 We do.
1247.440408 1253.000408 And I also think that it's important to have these Ebenezer moments, so to speak, where we
1253.000408 1260.600408 can look back and see how God was faithful and trustworthy at certain times that He has brought
1260.600408 1262.000408 us through seasons.
1262.000408 1267.240408 He brought you through seasons of loneliness and He will continue to bring you through this
1267.240408 1268.240408 season.
1268.240408 1269.240408 Yes.
1269.240408 1270.240408 Yes.
1270.240408 1279.580408 Look the way we think it should, yes, I would like to have been on the victory circle when
1279.580408 1282.560408 I came for this today, but I'm not there yet.
1282.560408 1287.760408 You know, here's how to live the perfect life and arrive, having figured it all out.
1287.760408 1289.600408 That's what we're hoping you were going to tell us, Margaret.
1289.600408 1290.600408 Yeah.
1290.600408 1291.600408 Listen, we want answers.
1291.600408 1300.220408 We want your years of wisdom to instill some sort of one of the ways that you have
1300.220408 1308.700408 to work to build community and combat loneliness is the children, the children that you've taken
1308.700408 1315.960408 into your heart, not your home necessarily, but into your heart and into your family.
1315.960408 1324.780408 And can you tell us a little more about your decision and how you've supported 42 kids?
1324.780408 1325.780408 42 kids.
1325.780408 1326.780408 42 kids.
1326.780408 1335.820408 Well, I went to a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert and at the end, he said, "If you'd like
1335.820408 1344.260408 to sponsor a child, go to the table at the back and sponsor a child."
1344.260408 1352.980408 And I found a little girl called Magali, Magarita in El Salvador, and I thought, "Oh, yes.
1352.980408 1360.180408 Please call the same name as me, Magarita, Margaret, and therefore maybe I will take her."
1360.180408 1371.900408 So I started with her in 1999 and kept her and went to visit her in 2005.
1371.900408 1376.580408 But then I became an advocate for compassion.
1376.580408 1386.100408 And in one sense being an advocate, compassion became part of my family because I had retired
1386.100408 1388.740408 by then as a teacher.
1388.740408 1397.540408 And so it was a great joy to sponsor about eight kids, but then I inherited some money from
1397.540408 1399.860408 a great grandfather.
1399.860408 1406.260408 And that was thrilling because then I said, "Lord, what shall I do with this extra money
1406.260408 1408.340408 that I didn't expect?"
1408.340408 1418.100408 And so I then paid off the mortgage on my townhouse and then I had the excitement of sponsoring
1418.100408 1424.540408 a child from each of the 26 countries where compassion worked.
1424.540408 1433.580408 And so I chose online these 26 kids and then I had the privilege of visiting 32 of the
1433.580408 1442.220408 ones I had sponsored in their countries, maybe not in their homes, but at least in the capital.
1442.220408 1446.980408 And so they were able to bring those children to visit me.
1446.980408 1450.900408 And it's been very thrilling to see how they've grown.
1450.900408 1454.140408 One has become an English teacher in Thailand.
1454.140408 1463.540408 One has become a doctor in Dominican Republic and several of the others have met with success.
1463.540408 1471.860408 Others have not been so successful, but I try and follow them as much as possible.
1471.860408 1476.300408 And for those who may not know much about compassion international, I'll let you explain
1476.300408 1479.980408 it a little better because you're clearly much more involved than I ever have.
1479.980408 1485.020408 But it's a monthly contribution that's going through compassion to pay for things like
1485.020408 1488.100408 school and food and other necessities.
1488.100408 1495.220408 Professional and spiritual help, especially because often these children get the emotional
1495.220408 1502.180408 and psychological support from somebody and even its compassion who would give them
1502.180408 1509.580408 maybe a birthday gift through you, whereas the families often don't know anything about
1509.580408 1512.900408 birthdays or Christmas.
1512.900408 1514.780408 And my family did this when I was young.
1514.780408 1517.980408 We had a few different children that we sponsored and we could write letters.
1517.980408 1521.900408 Back and forth and they would send you photos from time to time.
1521.900408 1527.740408 So you mentioned, you started this in 1999.
1527.740408 1531.700408 So you sponsor children until they're 18, is that how it works?
1531.700408 1532.700408 That's 22.
1532.700408 1533.700408 Oh, wow.
1533.700408 1534.700408 Okay.
1534.700408 1539.460408 Because if any of those children want to go onto university, then they can go to university.
1539.460408 1546.620408 And right now, there's one that I've got who's graduated back in '80, but she's studying
1546.620408 1548.260408 nursing.
1548.260408 1555.300408 And in '80, they won't even give you a glove to practice nursing with much less stethoscopes
1555.300408 1556.300408 and things like that.
1556.300408 1564.100408 So I've had to send money for the equipment that she needs as she studies nursing.
1564.100408 1568.580408 And you are holding right now, we'll put a picture of this online for listeners.
1568.580408 1572.780408 Is this photo from one of your compassion trips or is this from a different, this is from
1572.780408 1580.020408 one of my compassion trips that this family invited me to their home.
1580.020408 1584.900408 But they suddenly said, you must sit down and take off your shoes.
1584.900408 1593.860408 And so I took off my shoes and the compassion girl needed to wash my feet just like Jesus
1593.860408 1596.220408 washed the disciples' feet.
1596.220408 1602.300408 I felt so unworthy that she should be washing my sandy dirty feet.
1602.300408 1607.240408 But here she was doing that before I could enter her home.
1607.240408 1610.540408 Everything was very dry and dusty.
1610.540408 1612.780408 It's what Jesus did for us.
1612.780408 1621.700408 And what a beautiful picture of sometimes, again, I'm going to be careful how I say this.
1621.700408 1627.580408 Sometimes Americans, and I know that you're, as we discuss, a citizen of the world.
1627.580408 1630.580408 But sometimes I will seek for my own experience.
1630.580408 1634.940408 When Americans go on trips or they visit poor countries, we kind of have this mentality
1634.940408 1637.140408 of, we're here to help.
1637.140408 1639.020408 Here we come to save the day.
1639.020408 1642.380408 And what a beautiful picture of her saying, you know what?
1642.380408 1646.360408 I'm going to give you the same attitude that Jesus gave.
1646.360408 1650.760408 And you're both kind of serving each other in that moment, which is pretty beautiful.
1650.760408 1656.060408 But there's so much we can learn from, even people that we are serving, right?
1656.060408 1657.460408 That's, we don't have all the answers.
1657.460408 1660.740408 So much to receive, yes, yes.
1660.740408 1668.320408 More blessed to give than to receive, but we also are more blessed to receive than to give.
1668.320408 1672.540408 I have a hard time receiving that is something that I've had to work on, isn't it?
1672.540408 1673.540408 Yes.
1673.540408 1675.620408 Something I've had to work on in my life.
1675.620408 1681.000408 And I think this other picture of me with a girl in 80, that I'm still supporting, when
1681.000408 1687.180408 I was there, I was trying to teach her how to swim, but she couldn't swim yet.
1687.180408 1694.380408 And I think that that's one of the symbols of what we are trying to do is to teach each
1694.380408 1697.820408 of them how to swim in life.
1697.820408 1701.140408 That's beautiful picture.
1701.140408 1703.220408 That is really beautiful.
1703.220408 1710.340408 We all need to learn to swim through the diversity in life, yes.
1710.340408 1714.060408 How have you kind of been able to keep that perspective?
1714.060408 1721.260408 There's so many ways that we can get caught up in just the day to day of life and not kind
1721.260408 1723.340408 of keeping the big picture in mind.
1723.340408 1730.060408 I don't know if you can talk a little bit about how has God kind of kept your heart close
1730.060408 1733.860408 to his through all these different experiences?
1733.860408 1737.340408 Oh, that's a tough question.
1737.340408 1746.340408 I think that sometimes I've strayed so that I haven't been the joyful, rejoicing person
1746.340408 1751.580408 that I would like to be the witness to Jesus.
1751.580408 1761.740408 I think it goes back to being sometimes depressed or sometimes self-satisfied rather than realizing
1761.740408 1769.500408 how much the Lord has given me, because He's blessed me with so much in every decade of my
1769.500408 1770.500408 life.
1770.500408 1773.220408 How can I not be grateful?
1773.220408 1779.300408 And so one of the things I try and remember at the beginning of my quiet time each day is
1779.300408 1787.820408 to make sure I've written down five things for which I'm thankful for that morning because
1787.820408 1798.860408 it's so easy to be either self-satisfied or else regretting that we failed the day before
1798.860408 1802.300408 or I didn't do as much as I could have.
1802.300408 1812.860408 So I think gratitude being thankful for what Jesus has done and what He's enabled me to
1812.860408 1817.900408 do and look back and praise.
1817.900408 1825.780408 I think gratitude helps us to better avoid the sin of comparison and discontentment.
1825.780408 1836.060408 I find myself sometimes forgetting the things that God has done for me and how far He's brought
1836.060408 1842.100408 me and only focusing, and that's our enemy, trying to trick us, trying to get us to focus
1842.100408 1846.220408 on what we don't have rather than what we do have.
1846.220408 1853.900408 You were talking about just the way God has provided for you and I really love this story
1853.900408 1860.260408 about how you received the inheritance from your grandfather who said, "And first of all,
1860.260408 1866.180408 you made an excellent choice in paying off your mortgage first because I see so many
1866.180408 1872.340408 single women that are not financially solvent or viable."
1872.340408 1880.280408 And so that was a good choice, and it faced fear as they grow older, how I manage, how I
1880.280408 1884.360408 do this, and that was a double blessing.
1884.360408 1889.700408 It was a double blessing and it reminds me of verse and proverbs.
1889.700408 1896.100408 I really love proverbs, Mary Beth is chuckling because I say how much I love proverbs, almost
1896.100408 1899.460408 every time we record an episode of Trustworthy.
1899.460408 1905.200408 Proverbs 13-22, a good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's
1905.200408 1907.100408 wealth is stored up for the righteous.
1907.100408 1913.140408 And I think about how your grandfather left an inheritance for his children and his children's
1913.140408 1922.420408 children, and then in turn, your children, these 42 children, have also received that inheritance.
1922.420408 1931.860408 And that to me is such a beautiful testimony to God's economy because you did not have children
1931.860408 1932.860408 of your own.
1932.860408 1938.980408 I know that we had already discussed the marriage proposal and the situation there.
1938.980408 1945.280408 And I think at one point you had been considering adopting a child and had decided that that wasn't
1945.280408 1947.260408 what you were supposed to do.
1947.260408 1954.940408 And in turn, you now have these 42 children whose lives you have had an impact on and that
1954.940408 1956.380408 your grandfather did too.
1956.380408 1957.380408 Yeah.
1957.380408 1964.340408 I just love the exponential blessing that will now go out into the world through some of
1964.340408 1968.300408 these 42 children and the way their lives are going to be different.
1968.300408 1973.540408 The children that they are going to have, and it's just multiplies.
1973.540408 1975.940408 One of them couldn't continue with me.
1975.940408 1982.580408 He had to move to a different area where there was compassion, but he still had a spirit
1982.580408 1983.580408 of giving.
1983.580408 1989.540408 In his last letter, he wrote to me and he said, "Even if you've loved me and can no longer
1989.540408 1993.820408 love me, please choose another child to love."
1993.820408 2000.620408 And I thought he can go through that giving spirit even as an adult.
2000.620408 2001.620408 Wow.
2001.620408 2008.980408 And that is just a testimony to God's faithfulness that he who started a good work will carry
2008.980408 2009.980408 it on to completion.
2009.980408 2010.980408 Yes.
2010.980408 2011.980408 Yes.
2011.980408 2015.660408 Well, do we want to talk about current day a little bit?
2015.660408 2016.660408 Yeah.
2016.660408 2023.400408 So we've kind of alluded to it, but maybe you could share how did you end up in Kenneth
2023.400408 2025.540408 Square, Pennsylvania?
2025.540408 2031.040408 And what are things you kind of mentioned, the place where you're currently living is then
2031.040408 2033.040408 a trial?
2033.040408 2035.980408 How are you kind of approaching your day to day now?
2035.980408 2039.260408 There's lots of views on what retirements should look like.
2039.260408 2041.100408 What's your view on that?
2041.100408 2048.820408 Well, grateful, even though I wasn't grateful when I began sponsoring kids, I knew about where
2048.820408 2055.460408 I'm living mainly because I had three of my mother's sisters who were there.
2055.460408 2058.380408 I knew it was safe.
2058.380408 2066.000408 And I had a brother who wanted to make sure that they all will look after me as I have the
2066.000408 2068.980408 security that God will look after me.
2068.980408 2076.979320 But I think that it was good to learn that I could start a tiny Bible study which we meet
2076.979320 2084.019320 every Friday, there are about three or four of us at three o'clock on Friday afternoon,
2084.019320 2087.739320 and we can do it in a public room.
2087.739320 2090.283537 And we'd love to have more people, 
2090.283537 2100.460499 So we have a mission field there, but we're studying Luke's gospel and just pray that more
2100.460499 2105.460499 people will have a hunger for Jesus.
2105.460499 2112.940499 What would be your encouragement to, I mean, even honestly, to Sarah and myself, as we
2112.940499 2117.740499 look ahead, years down the road, where are we going to be in retirement age?
2117.740499 2119.440499 What will you be doing?
2119.440499 2123.540499 What's kind of the encouragement or challenge, you would say, in terms of how should we be spending
2123.540499 2124.540499 our time?
2124.540499 2127.540499 What should that look like?
2127.540499 2137.380499 Keep looking on the now Hebrews 12 looking to Jesus, the finisher and author of our faith
2137.380499 2139.060499 and our journey.
2139.060499 2147.500499 I think that Romans 12 to our wonderful verses to keep in mind.
2147.500499 2156.500499 But again, just the idea of training on the streets of St Andrews running, running, running,
2156.500499 2169.580499 even if it's hard and the stamina is needed for each decade, each stage of your life.
2169.580499 2178.980499 I think that we're never to be looking just back, we need to look forward and up further
2178.980499 2183.340499 up and further and this Lewis would say.
2183.340499 2189.280499 This is bringing to mind a passage from Philippians 3, 10, 14.
2189.280499 2197.260499 Yes, I'll just read it, Philippians 3, 10 to 14, I want to know Christ, yes, to know the
2197.260499 2203.300499 power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him and his
2203.300499 2208.740499 death and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
2208.740499 2215.380499 Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press
2215.380499 2223.100499 on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took a hold of me, brothers and sisters,
2223.100499 2229.860499 I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting
2229.860499 2235.860499 what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win
2235.860499 2242.940499 the prize for which Christ has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
2242.940499 2243.940499 Yes, that's it.
2243.940499 2249.380499 Paul was writing that in prison, things could be looking dark for him in prison, but he
2249.380499 2252.860499 was looking up and on.
2252.860499 2258.380499 We're sitting here and we're looking back at the past, we're seeing the ways that God
2258.380499 2264.380499 has sustained you and brought you through, but this is interesting because in this first
2264.380499 2274.580499 13 it says, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
2274.580499 2278.020499 what is ahead is better.
2278.020499 2288.980499 What is ahead is going to be crazy, but yet we're here now and like you said, there's more
2288.980499 2289.980499 training.
2289.980499 2292.340499 There's more training that needs to be done.
2292.340499 2298.180499 It's like we're teaching our boys, they're playing flag football, and we're teaching them
2298.180499 2303.140499 to play to the whistle, don't just stop once you think you've done what you need to do,
2303.140499 2307.940499 you go, you keep going, don't slow down, keep running, play to the whistle.
2307.940499 2312.660499 Until the play is actually over, there's so many analogous from sports for the rest of
2312.660499 2313.660499 our lives.
2313.660499 2318.540499 I was going to give a quick plug for Margaret's things that are online, Sarah, if now would
2318.540499 2319.540499 be the good time to do it.
2319.540499 2320.540499 Now would be a great time.
2320.540499 2325.500499 So I mentioned at the beginning your book, it is on Amazon, it's called Joy of Serving
2325.500499 2331.260499 by Margaret Lutley, and also for those who are in our Will it all Chapel community.
2331.260499 2335.660499 I think it was a couple of years ago, maybe a year ago you did a video interview that is
2335.660499 2341.300499 on the Will it all Chapel YouTube page and we will link to that in our notes so you can
2341.300499 2346.780499 hear even more of Margaret's story there and see her, not just hear her.
2346.780499 2355.020499 We do have one question that we would like to ask, what advice would you give to a young
2355.020499 2360.500499 person who feels God's call to the mission field?
2360.500499 2373.140499 For Sue Jesus, prepare, pursue the dream, the very best preparation that you can.
2373.140499 2384.920499 Work out the issues that you have, I know that before I went to Chile, J.I. Packer and
2384.920499 2390.020499 his wife, I used to babysit for and they didn't think I was ready.
2390.020499 2400.820499 Psychologically, for the mission field yet and I think that I should have listened so that
2400.820499 2409.820499 I resolved some of those issues of needing to justify who I was by serving rather than
2409.820499 2413.740499 by being grateful to Jesus.
2413.740499 2422.860499 I think that some of my life was surrounding my ego who I was and the insecurities and
2422.860499 2430.280499 I should have faced some of those before going, which is why I say, prepare, prepare as
2430.280499 2435.780499 much as you can, seek the Lord's face.
2435.780499 2442.300499 That sounds like excellent advice for any venture, not just the mission field.
2442.300499 2449.900499 This requires humility, which I think was probably in much shorter supply when I was in my
2449.900499 2450.900499 20s.
2450.900499 2459.860499 Nobody could tell me, maybe when you're young, you need to have that level of ego and bravado
2459.860499 2463.580499 so that you go out and accomplish things.
2463.580499 2469.860499 You're willing to do things before you know better.
2469.860499 2472.060499 Inside is always easier.
2472.060499 2476.140499 So you mentioned that you babysat for J.I. Packer and his wife.
2476.140499 2479.100499 That's an interesting connection.
2479.100499 2482.340499 Baby sitting meant I could get some of his books.
2482.340499 2489.220499 I was going to say what books were coming out when you were able to help with the Bible
2489.220499 2493.620499 dictionary and a royal book and different things.
2493.620499 2494.620499 It was fun.
2494.620499 2495.620499 Wow.
2495.620499 2496.860499 I haven't kept them all.
2496.860499 2502.100499 Did you get to have discussions, theological discussions without much?
2502.100499 2503.100499 Not much.
2503.100499 2510.340499 No, he had some kids that they had adopted and one of them had even locked him into his
2510.340499 2511.340499 study.
2511.340499 2513.380499 Oh, my goodness.
2513.380499 2518.140499 The theological work was restraining the children.
2518.140499 2521.900499 Well, is that called practical theology?
2521.900499 2522.900499 It's right.
2522.900499 2526.780499 That's an interesting tidbit.
2526.780499 2528.780499 Thank you for that.
2528.780499 2538.020499 You've certainly seen your share of war and discomfort and privation and different levels
2538.020499 2543.820499 of poverty that most people listening to this may not have experienced before.
2543.820499 2550.620499 And you've had to live without what we would consider essentials with having lived through
2550.620499 2552.740499 all that.
2552.740499 2559.256961 How did you find the experience of the COVID pandemic?
2559.641542 2567.521542 For me, it was a piece of cake because they brought us food, they brought us the mail.
2567.521542 2576.321542 It was nothing compared with difficulty in the third world country or visiting one of
2576.321542 2579.481542 my compassion children.
2579.481542 2587.321542 It was one room about twice the size of your table with a curtain and outside the curtain
2587.321542 2596.841542 with two stones and that was with two plastic cups and that was their house.
2596.841542 2603.481542 And I think that COVID, I mean, I wasn't sick with COVID.
2603.481542 2608.921542 So I had everything I needed and more than I needed it.
2608.921542 2615.161542 And COVID was easy for me, very easy.
2615.161542 2620.881542 One of the things that people struggled with was the isolation and loneliness, but that's
2620.881542 2624.081542 not something that you mentioned in your response.
2624.081542 2634.641542 No, because we still had access to the TV or which I didn't use, but the radio, the Bible,
2634.641542 2642.401542 I could read, I could have my quiet, it wasn't as if I was without the Bible.
2642.401542 2648.001542 I also try and pray for different people each day of the week.
2648.001542 2659.121542 I also have some lovely devotionals as one that's just Bible readings called daily light.
2659.121542 2672.161542 So I could be fed spiritually and as one's faced loneliness in the jungle or faced loneliness
2672.161542 2673.161542 in isolation.
2673.161542 2680.921542 It was just a little bit more isolation, but it wasn't that bad, more physical comforts
2680.921542 2682.241542 though.
2682.241542 2683.241542 Yeah.
2683.241542 2692.041542 I suppose it came two or three months after I'd moved, so I was I suppose coping with movement
2692.041542 2698.241542 as well as COVID, so I knew I would be difficult.
2698.241542 2699.481542 I knew I was needy.
2699.481542 2702.561542 That's such a fascinating perspective.
2702.561542 2706.761542 I think you're the first person I've talked to that said, COVID was pretty easy.
2706.761542 2708.401542 I think she said peace of cake.
2708.401542 2709.401542 Yeah.
2709.401542 2710.401542 Peace cake.
2710.401542 2716.801542 Well, the rest of us were wallowing in our supposed affection behind her.
2716.801542 2722.561542 I think the isolation was hard, you know, and my boys were three and one, roughly like
2722.561542 2730.001542 one thing shut down, and so for them not to have socialization with others and yeah, I think
2730.001542 2734.721542 it was the relational aspect, but yeah, but it's like you're saying, we had a house.
2734.721542 2735.721542 We had food.
2735.721542 2736.721542 We had.
2736.721542 2740.481542 There was nothing physical that we were lacking.
2740.481542 2744.641542 And yet we definitely, I definitely like, whoa, it's me.
2744.641542 2749.081542 I can go out and wave to my neighbor from across the street, but we can't go do all the
2749.081542 2750.081542 thing.
2750.081542 2753.241542 This is a convening conversation.
2753.241542 2760.721542 I think that for devastation for third world countries where they couldn't go to school,
2760.721542 2761.881542 it couldn't get food.
2761.881542 2770.401542 They couldn't get so many things that I had that really, and it put a lot of the compassion
2770.401542 2782.441542 kids two and three years behind in their development and studies and going to school and getting food
2782.441542 2786.281542 and things like that to me was terrible.
2786.281542 2794.121542 And even here, I was tutoring, trying to tutor somebody, and those people had lost out,
2794.121542 2802.161542 especially the Spanish speakers on their English development, and they'd lost a long way in
2802.161542 2808.521542 the science projects and understanding so that we're just memorizing without understanding.
2808.521542 2816.801542 That set third world kids further behind that makes sense.
2816.801542 2818.921542 Well, we're going to wrap up here.
2818.921542 2823.361542 But before we do market, I have one more question for you, and you can choose whether or not you
2823.361542 2825.494014 want to answer this.
2825.494014 2840.282449 Have you experienced God as a husband?
2840.282449 2852.882449 I think that I was on furlough in England, and I was desperate to know more of Jesus.
2852.882449 2861.742449 I was feeling very dry, and so I was praying with two friends, Kathy and Jenny, who seemed
2861.742449 2864.322449 to have the joy of the Lord.
2864.322449 2872.962449 And so I asked for them to pray with me, and we saw the Lord, and I think that that was
2872.962449 2879.442449 a time of deep spiritual hunger.
2879.442449 2890.522449 And the Lord graciously helped me begin to experience more of the Holy Spirit as my spouse,
2890.522449 2902.042449 so he say, more of his goodness, he gave me the gift of tongues, and be able to share more
2902.042449 2903.042449 of Jesus.
2903.042449 2910.722449 This was in Chile when I was back in Chile, but it gave me a new love, a new, we were able
2910.722449 2919.562449 to meet a lot of evenings, or at least once a week, in prayer, longer times of prayer.
2919.562449 2928.102449 And I think that in one sense that was a time when the Lord brought us in a community of
2928.102449 2936.462449 joy, and in one sense he was ministering more as a husband to me at those times.
2936.462449 2942.302449 I think that probably I regret not using the tongues more in my previous church, we did
2942.302449 2943.662449 use it.
2943.662449 2953.717551 And so I think that you need to cultivate ongoing relationships with Jesus as a spouse.
2953.717551 2953.775601 I asked the question, although I did put you on the spot, and you handled that, she handled
2953.775601 2954.876054 that very well.
2954.876054 2964.516054 I have experienced myself just the provision that maybe sometimes a spouse would give
2964.516054 2968.716054 a wife, but I've experienced that provision through the Lord.
2968.716054 2978.836054 And just the story about the receiving this gift from God, and just that deep feeling of
2978.836054 2985.716054 being loved and cherished and cared for, it is such a beautiful thing.
2985.716054 2988.716054 And I'm so grateful that you've had that experience.
2988.716054 2990.236054 I am too.
2990.236054 2991.236054 Okay.
2991.236054 2992.236054 The Lord.
2992.236054 2993.236054 Thank you.
2993.236054 3002.436054 Any final thoughts or words of wisdom from anyone?
3002.436054 3003.436054 We're both looking at markers.
3003.436054 3005.756054 But Margaret, thank you so much for doing this with us.
3005.756054 3007.276054 This is a real treat for us.
3007.276054 3011.876054 I love this conversation and just everybody has a different life story, right?
3011.876054 3016.716054 And so it's always encouraging to see how God has worked in many different ways in people's
3016.716054 3017.716054 lives.
3017.716054 3026.916054 I think that even in the loneliness of my present time, it's the children who are now saying,
3026.916054 3036.356054 we love you and we're grateful, and once it's time, reaping the joy of that, reaping
3036.356054 3041.276054 the benefits of what you have sown in the previous season of your life.
3041.276054 3043.716054 It's a beautiful thing.
3043.716054 3044.996054 Thank you.
3044.996054 3045.996054 Thank you.
3045.996054 3046.996054 Very best.
3046.996054 3047.996054 Thank you.
3047.996054 3048.996054 Sarah.
3048.996054 3049.557914 Oh, you're welcome.
3049.557914 3054.430249 I'm just going to read this choosing to sponsor a child
3054.430249 3063.950249 is the beginning chapter in a wonderful story written by God of how to unconnected lives
3063.950249 3072.746531 can suddenly become a haven drenched experience, beautiful, not to be in my experience.
3072.746531 3076.514467 Thank you for sharing that with us and the Olympians 313, 14 again, brothers and sisters that
3076.514467 3079.954467 you not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
3079.954467 3084.914467 But one thing I do for getting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press
3084.914467 3092.514467 on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
3092.514467 3096.914467 And pull in two Corinthians, I've felt the good fight.
3096.914467 3108.554467 Amen, ladies.
3108.554467 3117.674467 Hey y'all, Mary Beth here, Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.
3117.674467 3122.754467 And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we are
3122.754467 3126.914467 not mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take the
3126.914467 3129.674467 place of any paid professional advice.