...yet

Myrtie Howell was a devoted Christian woman who had lived a hard life. Her family was very poor. When she was 10, she quit school and went to work in a steel mill for 10 cents a day. She married at age 17, then in early 1940, her husband was killed in an accident. When that happened, she lost her home, and she had to go back to work to support herself and three children.

Years later, her declining health forced her to move into an old, high-rise nursing home. A few weeks later, her youngest son died, and that's when she fell into a depression. She said, "Lord, what more can I do for you? I've lost everything that ever meant something to me, and now I'm stuck in this dark, dreary room. I have nothing left to live for! I want to die! I've had enough of this prison. Take me home."

Then God spoke to her as clearly as possible. He said, "I'm not through with you yet, Myrtie. Write to prisoners."

So, she wrote a letter and sent it to the Atlanta Penitentiary. This is what the letter said: "Dear Inmate, I am a grandmother who loves and cares for you. I am willing to be a friend. If you'd like to hear from me, write me. I will answer every letter you write. A Christian friend, Grandmother Howell."

The letter was given to the prison chaplain, and he gave her the names of eight prisoners to whom she could. Prison Fellowship gave her some more names. Soon, she was corresponding with up to forty inmates a day. She became a one-woman ministry reaching into prisons across America. She said, "I thought my life was over, but these past few years have been the most fulfilling years of my life!"

Myrtie Howell became a great missionary for God out of a one-room apartment. No matter where you live or what your situation is like, God can still do wonderful things through your life. As long as your heart is still beating and your blood is still pumping, Jesus Christ is not through with you.

-mark axelrod