Mary Slessor, an Epitome of Love (Poem)

A lady
Who suffered greatly;
Yet her sorrow never overcame
Her love.
She gave herself
To God and man;
Scotland was her birthplace,
But Calabar was her home.
She left comfort
And family
To fight for love
Amidst hate and chaos;
She never married
But had many children;
She was the mother
Of the rejected;
She stood her ground;
Defying customs and traditions
That Calabar may know Christ,
And be saved.
Even when old age failed her,
She never relented;
Instead, she progressed,
The more.
Her life
Turned stony hearts into flesh;
Though she lived amidst great evil,
She walked in love.
She allowed nothing
Stop her from loving God and men;
And even on her deathbed,
She died with love in her heart.
Mary Slessor, an Epitome of Love.
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth. 1John 3:18.
Mary Slessor stepped on the red earth of Calabar when she was 28 years and served its indigenes for most of her 66 years on earth.
What drove her from Scotland to Calabar? Was it a wish to be famous? Was it for tourism? Was it enforced on her? NO! What took her to Calabar was her love for God, that even at old age when her body failed her, she did not relent; but continued her work for God, that many not few, might be saved. She never married yet had kids around her; she adopted and catered for the rejected. She left the comfort of Scotland and chose to dwell in a malaria stricken land. The only thing I know that can make anyone dare such is “Love and Selflessness”; a love not veered towards personal gain, but man and God;
She possessed the supernatural strength of unreserved love not for worldly gains but men and God. Oh! That God will bless men in this generation with such heart, who will give themselves wholly to an eternal pursuit in Jesus’ name. Amen.