Lilias Trotter - Daring in the Desert

"You could become the greatest living painter. Your painting would be treasured for ever." Those were the words Lilias Trotter hears from John Ruskin, one of the world's most established art critics. She had to make a choice between her talent and her calling. Both were gifts from God. In May 1879 Lilias knew what she should do. She didn't give up drawing and painting, not at all, but they weren't the most important things in her life from then on. Lilias knew that her life must be devoted to God's work. God's work for Lilias was in the desert land of Algeria. Palm trees and camels replaced lampposts and horse drawn carriages. The desert was her home, its people her friends and its Creator her reason for life. Lilias still took her easel, paints and brushes with her wherever she went, making her diary an amazing record in words and paintings.