• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
light magazine logo and tag

Light Magazine

Inspiring Faith For Everyday Life

  • Arts
  • Community
    • Alberta Community
    • British Columbia Community
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Leadership
  • Life
  • Mission
  • Jobs
    • Job Dashboard
    • Post a Job
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us

In view of God: Edith Cavell

August 12, 2022 by Beverley Rayner Leave a Comment

In view of God Edith Cavell

Are you inspired by the lives of great men and women of faith? They often appear so far above us in greatness and deed. Edith Cavell was an ordinary country girl who grew to be known as a pioneer, patriot, spy and heroine. Her life began with such simple ideals: a love for God and a desire to serve others. 

Pacific Academy jan 15 25 post ad

Edith Louisa Cavell was born in 1865 in Norfolk, England, the eldest child of Louisa and Frederick Cavell. She had two sisters, Florence and Lilian, and a brother, Jack. Their father was the local vicar. Edith’s love for God was rooted in fertile soil, like a tiny seedling awaiting the warmth of the sun. Because of her love for God, she longed to serve others. Edith searched for opportunities at home to bless those in her small rural village. As a young girl, she carried homemade pots of jam to her neighbours, and when a new Sunday school room was needed, she painted cards of wildflowers and sold them to raise funds. 

Visionvest post ad

Commitment & service in the day-to-day village opportunities became Edith’s stepping-stones, leading to an unwavering determination and faith that grounded her later in life. 

Christian Herald post ad

Her first employment was as a governess for a Lawyer in Brussels. Then, in 1895, after a season in Norfolk to care for her sick and ageing father, Edith believed God was calling her to become a nurse.

FFC School of MInistry 250

Her heart’s longing was always to serve God by serving others. Training to become a nurse meant long hours and hard work. Edith started at seven every morning, doing the practical chores in the hospital, and she ended her day at 9 pm after two hours of study. In 1897, Typhoid fever broke out in London where Edith was training. Still, she continued working with enormous risk to her own life.

Because of her earlier connection in Brussels, she was offered a job by a surgeon. Although nursing was still considered unfit work for women, nurses in Britain were considered of the highest calibre. The surgeon needed an English nurse who could speak French and train Belgium women. 

Edith returned to Brussels to set up her nursing clinic, visiting home in Norfolk every summer to help her now widowed mother. During one of these visits home, she received a letter warning of the imminent occupation threat in Belgium. The First World War had begun. Her friends advised her to not return, but Edith had a great sense of duty and commitment towards others. She would not leave her nursing staff to fend for themselves. 

When Brussels became occupied, many allied soldiers, trapped behind enemy lines, hid out in the forests or found shelter with a growing number of patriots. Some of these injured men were brought to Edith’s clinic, where she hid and nursed them. A network of people aided in helping these men find safe passage out of Belgium and back to England or France. It was a criminal offence to help allied soldiers, and if caught, the penalty was death by a firing squad. 

Edith’s clinic consisted of four old terraced houses, which worked perfectly for hiding the men in one attic or another. Even Edith’s nurses were not aware of the risks she was taking. Her friends pleaded with her to stop, but Edith felt that it was her duty to help everyone – allied or not.  

She was finally caught and arrested. At her trial, her unwillingness to minimize the truth about her activities sealed her fate. Her final evening was spent writing letters to her mother and Grace, a young woman struggling with a morphine addiction, whom she befriended. “I worried about you at first, but I know that God will do for you abundantly above all that I can ask or think, and he loves you so much better.”

Edith resolutely reaffirmed her faith in God by underlining the following passage in her book, The Imitation of Christ: “There is none to help me, none to deliver me and save me, but thou, O Lord God, my Saviour, to whom I commit myself and all that is mine, that Thou mayest keep watch over me and bring me safe to life everlasting.” 

The Reverend Stirling, who was allowed to continue his duties throughout the occupation, visited Edith that last evening. Alone, they spoke about things that concerned Edith the most. She quietly assured the reverend that she trusted in the finished work of Christ and the Grace of God. She added:

“Standing in view of God and eternity, I realize that patriotism is not enough…one must love all men and hate none. I have no hatred or bitterness against anyone.” 

Edith Cavell is remembered for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. Her life illustrates what it truly means to love your neighbour as yourself. Edith’s legacy of faith and conviction to follow God, even in the face of evil, stands as an enduring testimony of what God can accomplish through the simple commitment of a young girl.  

About Beverley Rayner

Beverley RaynerBeverley Rayner is a school librarian and children’s author. She has two picture books published in Canada. Barclay and Berk Builders: A Parable, published by Castle Quay, is her most recent book. Bev uses her writing to help support Sharing Ministries Uganda, an African orphanage. Visit her web page for more information.

View all posts by Beverley Rayner | Website

Filed Under: Mission Tagged With: Biography

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

BC Christian Ashram
Christian Herald
Alistair Young Nov 14 2024
Jan Stefanic 1
CSB Men ISI 360
FFC School of MInistry 360
Better books and bibles web ad July 2025
Visionvest
Lighhouse Harbour Ministries
BC Christian Academy 360
Pacific Academy jan 15 25
Cultus Lake Parks ad 360
sign up 2
sign up 1

Secondary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

Jun 6
June 6 @ 8:00 am - August 30 @ 5:00 pm

Rosebud, AB: Dream, A new Canadian Musical at Rosebud Theatre

Jun 30
June 30 @ 9:00 am - July 4 @ 3:00 pm

Edmonton, AB: AIA Soccer Camp

Jul 4
July 4 @ 8:00 am - July 20 @ 5:00 pm

Drumheller, AB: Badlands Passion Play

Jul 4
July 4 @ 8:00 am - August 30 @ 5:00 pm

Rosebud, AB: Every Brilliant Thing at Rosebud Theatre

Jul 4
July 4 @ 4:00 pm - July 6 @ 7:00 pm

Love, SK: Love Gospel Jamboree

View Calendar

Recent Jobs

  • Director, Philanthropy & Partnerships

    • Greater Toronto Area, ON, Canada
    • World Vision Canada
    • Full Time
  • Associate Pastor – sbf church

    • Saanichton, BC V8M, Canada
    • Saanichton Bible Fellowship
    • Full Time
  • Lead Pastor – White Rock Baptist Church

    • White Rock, BC, Canada
    • White Rock Baptist Church
    • Full Time
  • Graphic Designer

    • Vancouver, BC, Canada
    • Youth Unlimited
    • Full Time
  • Clinical Services Director

    • Winnipeg, MB, Canada
    • Adult & Teen Challenge of Central Canada
    • Full Time

Directory

Businesses
201
Ministries
909
Schools
427

Articles Archive

Copyright © 2025 · Light Magazine · Website by Shannon Stange · Log in

Change Location
Find awesome listings near you!