James R. Nix
One day when I came to see Grandmother, she was just leaving her room to go to the balcony. And she had been writing in her bedroom for a change. She didn’t always write in the same place. And…I talked to her, stepped up to her, walked with her out to the balcony, and she said, “Grace, all these years the Lord has steadied this faithful right hand.” GOP 358.1
Now when she was first asked to write, she felt she couldn’t write so much. Her hand trembled. Ever since her accident, her hand was trembling. And she thought: “How can I write out what I have seen—all these things.” But when she decided to do what the Lord asked her to do, and tried it, then the Lord did steady her hand. GOP 358.2
—Grace White-Jacques 2Grace White-Jacques, video recordings at Elmshaven, St. Helena, California, Aug. 2-6,1987.
Hands. Ellen White’s hands. Throughout her 87 years of life Ellen White’s hands were constantly following King Solomon’s admonition, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Eccl. 9:10, NKJV). GOP 358.3
Mention Ellen White’s hands to most Adventists, and probably the first thing that comes to mind is all the writing that she did during her lifetime. Writing, writing, writing. Always writing. But her hands did much more than just write. As a child, Ellen used her small hands to help her twin sister, Elizabeth, climb over logs 3Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald®, 1981-1985), 1:20, 21. and to help coax the family’s milk cow to free itself after it had become stuck in the mud. 4Ibid., 20 GOP 358.4
Hands—yes, even as a girl, Ella, as she was called by her twin sister, was already busy using her hands to help others. Through the years those hands helped literally thousands of people. Whether it was hand-sewing a piece of clothing for someone, knitting socks for careworn feet, helping to treat the sick—both young and old—or merely inviting people into her home who needed a place to stay temporarily, Ellen’s hands and heart were constantly busy helping others. GOP 358.5
When Ellen was 9 years old, she was hit in the face with a stone thrown by an angry school-mate. 5Ibid., 28. The accident ended her schooling because her hand shook terribly when she tried to write, and the letters seemed to run together on the page when she tried to read. 6Ibid., 31; Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts (Battle Creek, Mich.: James White, 1860), 2:11. Understanding what it was like to be shunned because of the facial disfigurement from her injury resulted in Ellen’s lifelong empathy and concern for the poor and disadvantaged. GOP 359.1