Making The Most Of It - Mary Ann Paton

1840–59

Imagine this. You’re eighteen. You marry a man fifteen years older than you. Two weeks later, you set off from Scotland to an island in the South Pacific you’ve never heard of—all because your husband has accepted a charge to be a missionary. When you arrive, you find natives who have never been reached by anyone from the West before. They’re naked. They’re painted. And they’re cannibals.

This is the situation Mary Ann Paton found herself in during the first year of her marriage. The honeymoon, if there ever was one, was definitely over.

It’s not clear if Mary Ann shared her husband’s calling as a missionary or if she went out of a sense of duty. Either way, you have to imagine that she was out of her element on that island. And there’s one detail that’s been left out. By the time she and her husband, John, arrived there, she was pregnant. (Okay, maybe there was a short honeymoon.)

Even then, it seems Mary made the most of her situation. She brought women together for Bible study. Sadly, her time on that island (known as Tanna) didn’t last long. Shortly after the birth of her son, Peter, she contracted a fever and died. Peter died less than a month later.

Mary Ann’s influence didn’t die with her, though. Her grave still exists in Tanna, inspiring modern missionaries who are thankful for the foundation that she and her husband laid for them 150 years ago. John stayed four years after her death, introducing the Tannese to the gospel until he needed to leave because his life was in danger.

We never know how much time we have. Sure, there’s the old “you may get hit by a bus tomorrow” mind-set, but it’s not always death that cuts efforts short. You could get laid off from a job that you love, and where you’re doing good work. You could be working in a thriving ministry in your church, and have to move because a job takes you away.

Mary Ann’s life and all-too-early death can be a reminder to make the most of the time that’s right in front of us, because we truly don’t know what tomorrow holds.

Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

Proverbs 27:1