Our Greatest Moments Highlights
By Sarah Cushing
Since the 2026 FIFA World Cup is going on right now, we are watching a lot of soccer as a family. It’s so impressive to see how the players dribble the ball swiftly, pass the ball with precision, and work well as a team. Some teams make playing look almost easy. When the tournament ends, videos will be made about the best passes, best goals, and best overall moments of the event. The World Cup will be summed up by its greatest moments.
I think some people of the Christian faith also tend to be summed up by their greatest moments. Missionaries and prominent leaders have a specific event associated with them, such as an event that helped advance the gospel significantly. Those “greatest moments” highlights are like their World Cup match moment, a culmination of the many times they practiced trust and obedience to God.
Last year I learned about the medical missionary Margaret Nicholl Laird. The book The Good News Must Go Out by Rebecca Davies shares stories of God changing lives in the Central Africa Republic (CAR). Much of the book follows Laird’s life as a medical missionary from the 1920s to the 1960s. In the book, Laird’s story comes to a close as she gathers funds and support to open Ippy Hospital in the CAR. While the opening of the hospital is one of Laird’s most notable achievements, as a reader, that achievement was so impressive and sweet after reading stories of her long faithful servanthood in the community.
It was Laird’s faithful commitment to sharing the gospel to the people of the CAR that were the stepping stones to opening the hospital. The times she treated villagers on her kitchen table and even on her bed. Her small home looked like a medical center some days. It was her sacrifice and her determination to show God's love to her neighbors that granted her their trust. That trust led to the eventual political leaders’ support and approval Laird needed to open the hospital.
While history tends to highlight a person’s greatest moments, Laird’s story reminds me that no time following God’s will is wasted. God equips His children one day at a time. Even when the moments are done without an audience or even recognition. Each moment God gives us an opportunity to trust and obey Him is an opportunity to grow in our faith and prepare for what will become our greatest moments highlight to look back on in the future.