Life didn’t turn out the way she’d imagined. Ruth Bell Graham had every intention of being a missionary in the remote mountains of Tibet. But God had other plans. Proverbs 16:9 declares, “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” — or in this case, her steps.
A Choice to Make
It’s not surprising Ruth aspired to being a missionary. She was born in China in 1920, where her parents were medical missionaries at the Presbyterian hospital 300 miles from Shanghai. She saw, firsthand, the suffering, the disease, and the fallout from civil war the people of China faced. Rather than drive her toward a more comfortable, carefree life, this deepened her conviction that people need a Savior. She looked for opportunities to bring the hope of Christ to the lost and dying world around her.
She attended a boarding school in Pyongyang, in what is now North Korea, in her early teen years. She learned to combat the loneliness and homesickness by caring for the needs of others and gained skills she would use in the years to come.
Her parents returned home to Montreat, North Carolina for furlough, so Ruth was able to complete her high school education in the United States. In 1937, she enrolled at Wheaton College where she met “The Preacher,” Billy Graham.
When the two began dating, an inner conflict began stirring. Ruth was torn between her desire, and what she believed was her calling, to return to the mission field as a single woman and her love for Billy Graham. After diligently seeking God in prayer, she was confident they belonged in ministry together. They were married in 1943.
A Fruitful Ministry
Billy Graham did not immediately become the evangelist we know him as today. Before beginning his ministry as an evangelist and establishing the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he was a pastor, a Youth for Christ evangelist and president of Northwestern Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All the while, Ruth faithfully served God and her husband. She was the strong woman behind his ministry, his closest confidant and advisor , and his dearest friend.
When her husband’s travels kept him from home for extended periods of time, Ruth convinced him to move the family back to Montreat, so she would be near her parents. She was expecting their first child, the first of five. Having her parents nearby would lighten her load.
Although she was busy parenting and helping with her husband’s ministry, Ruth found time to pursue her own passions. She was a gifted writer who authored or co-authored 14 books that have touched many lives.
Ruth Bell Graham passed away in 2007, at the of 87. She left behind 19 grandchildren plus numerous great grandchildren. She also left behind the legacy of a godly woman willing to lay down her life for God and for others.
“Worship and worry cannot live in the same heart; they are mutually exclusive.” -Ruth Bell Graham
