Broken nails and cracked hands

Nigeria was never to be the same again. A fiery, red headed Scottish missionary arrives in 1876. Mary Slessor encountered a culture steeped in evil and superstition. Here twins were considered of the devil, the custom was to bury them alive. Both women and slaves would be frequently killed simply because they existed. Such unspeakably cruel practises pervaded every fibre of the civilisation.

As a single woman, Mary adopted many children condemned to death. Countless women were rescued from ritual execution, as she courageously lived among the tribal people who had captured her heart. Standing against these tribal practises, her dedicated life was lived by the motto 'God and one are always a majority'.

A woman's heart is prediposed with compassion and empathy for the disadvantaged and powerless. For the vulnerable, wounded and broken, her heart is exposed. God delights to look upon a woman who sees Him working His plans even in the darkest times of others and self. Like Joseph in Egypt, facing injustice, cruelty and betrayal - a woman who will trust God is acting with righteousness and courage despite circumstances.

God seeks the woman whose gentle heart of compassion will not be overwhelmed and faint. He honours the woman who will rise up in His strength to bind the broken hearted and confront injustice. They become His hands and His voice in a broken and evil world.

The woman who ministers when no one can observe, He applauds. Such a woman almost too readily, (yet predicatably) will silently slip out of the comfortable for the grimey corners of this sad earth. She will deliver His healing balm. She will fracture her nails and scar her hands for those impotent to see beyond their wounds.

God's heart is charged as He observes this woman's gentle heart and spirit stand strong and resilient when the maligned and weak are set upon. She trusts her Father's voice whispering to her spirit, caressing her caring soul...'do not fear for I am with you.'

This woman willingly walks across the boundaries of class and culture. She loves God's children she meets there. Her soft heart is one of courage and strength. She knows this and is thus empowered to live, 'for God and one are a majority.'