On this day in 1816 Mary Carey (no relation to Harry Caray) wrote to her brother, missionary William Carey in India. The primary subject of the letter was to inform him of the death of their father. But I have more interest in Mary than in that letter or her father.
Mary Carey was five years younger than her famous brother. At the age of eighteen, the Lord saved her soul, and as a testimony of His grace, she was immersed in the river Tove, along with her older sister Ann, Six years later, at the age of twenty-four, Mary had a massive stroke. For the next fifty years she was basically unable to speak, or to use any of her limbs, except her right arm. But rather than giving in to her many trials, Mary developed the habit of writing out her thoughts for the people around her, and she wrote letters, most of which were sent to encourage her brother, the Indian missionary.
After her stroke Mary was taken in by her sister and her husband, William Hobson. The eight children of the family loved their aunt and did what they could to help her. Then Ann’s husband died, and the two ladies and all the kids were evicted from their home, basically because they were Baptists. Mary wrote to her brother, “ours is a conspicuous family, and we have such influence it drives others from the Establishment (the Church of England).” And then she added, “I wish I could be more conspicuous for God.” From that time on, Missionary Carey sent funds from his meager income to help support his sisters. It is said that Mary lived with a constant desire to be released to her heavenly home and to her glorified body, but she also felt that there was work for her to do in this world. She lived fifty years after her stoke, and died five years after her brother.
I have often heard a quote from John Milton, the blind Christian author, but I had never given myself to think much about it. At the conclusion of his poem, “On His Blindness,” Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” When our hearts are fully surrendered into the hands of the Lord, just a simple willingness to serve is pleasing in His sight. For all of us, but especially for those of who are whole and well, we need not only to be willing to serve, but to serve to the best of our ability.(Adapted from: “This Day in Baptist History, III – Cummins)