MARY SLESSOR WHITE QUEEN OF CALABAR
Life for most people is governed by authority and convention, but behind these there lies always the mystery of human nature, uncertain and elusive, and apt now and again to go off at a tangent and disturb the smooth working of organised routine.
Some man or woman will appear who departs from the normal order of procedure, who follows ideals rather than rules, and whose methods are irregular, and often in the eyes of onlookers, unwise.
They may be poor or frail, and in their own estimation of no account, yet it is often they who are used for the accomplishment of important ends. Such a one was Mary Slessor.
Mary was so humble-minded that she could not discern any special virtue in her life of self-sacrifice and heroism; and she disliked publicity and was shamed by praise. Her belief was that argument and theory had no effect in arousing interest in missionary enterprise; that the only means of setting the heart on fire was the magnetism of personal touch and example.
She had a complex nature, full of contrasts and opposites. She was a woman of affairs, with a wide and catholic outlook upon humanity, and yet she was a shy solitary walking alone in puritan simplicity and childlike faith.
A sufferer from chronic malarial infection and a martyr to pain, her days were filled with in with unremitting toil. Overflowing with love and tender feeling, she could be stern and exacting. Shrewd, practical, and matter of fact, she believed that sentiment was a gift of God, and frankly indulged in it.
Living always in the midst of dense spiritual darkness, and often depressed and worried, she maintained unimpaired a sense of humour and laughter. Strong and tenacious of will, she admitted the right of others to oppose her.
It was by surrender, dedication and unwearied devotion that she grew into her power of attainment, and all can adventure on the same path. It was love for Christ that made her what she was, and there is no limit set in that direction.
“There is nothing small or trivial,” she once said, “for God is ready to take every act and motive and work through them to the formation of character and the development of holy and useful lives that will convey grace to the world.”
Mary Mitchell Slessor came to Calabar as a young woman, and became everything to all people. She put off her shoes, and walked barefooted to identify with the Africans.
She fought to stop all inhumane practices like the killing of twins and maltreatment of women. She was a nurse, social worker, counsellor and judge. The people knew her as “Eka Kpukpru Owo”.
Courtsey of W F Livingstone and Hodder & Stoughton & Christian Impact Magazine