The Encouraging Girlfriend. Why I want to marry William Wilberforce

I just want to set the record straight: I do not want to marry the dead 18th Century politician William Wilberforce.  I watched the film "Amazing Grace" last nigh. Nevertheless, I do want to discuss his courtship with Barbara Ann Spooner who later became his wife.  For those of you who are not sure of who William Wilberforce was, he sat in the House of Commons and campaigned heavily against the slave trade in Great Britain. Initially, he wrestled with the idea of God and politics and felt he should leave politics entirely to pursue "religion". Yet as his conviction grew stronger and the atrocities of slavery grew worse he finally listened to the Quakers who simply said "We humbly suggest you do both".  He knew the Lord required him to enter the House of Commons, and in 1807 the Slave Trade Act was passed abolishing slavery.

I want to concentrate on Barbara Ann Spooner. Her conduct throughout the film left a lasting impression on me. She knew what she believed in and was ready to tell the world.  I am sure this was frowned upon back then  because  for anybody especially a young lady to be associated with the abolition of slavery was a taboo or worse branded a  "revolutionist".  However, she encouraged William Wilberforce to go on campaigning against slavery despite all the reproach he was getting from his peers.  Though she could not enter the House of Commons herself (gender issues) if given the chance I am sure she would have.

I see this lady as role model for other young women. She didn't sit by idle and just wave her fan and play Bridge while William  wrestled with his campaign.  She read, she boycotted sugar imported from plantations , she wore "Anti-Slavery badges", she went on the picket line. She did all this before she met William.  It wasn't William who shaped her beliefs. It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit that shaped her attitude towards the evils of slavery.

My point here is that we as women have a role to play.  We all love to here about the Proverbs 31 woman.  I believe Barbara Ann Spooner reflected this woman in the bible.  Proverbs 31:16 states thus : She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard . The woman here is well learned and she is an excellent property buyer.  These are skills she may have acquired before she met her husband.  We all know that this time in our single lives, is a time we need to start learning how to handle finances. But there is something much more deeper than just finances. Shouldn't we women be out there? Shouldn't we young women speak out against injustices? Yes let me be a devil's advocate here, but shouldn't some of us be in the House of Commons?

The courtship between Barbara Ann Spooner and William Wilberforce really inspired me.  Hence my conclusion of wanting to marry a man just like him.  Barbara encouraged William not because he was her boyfriend but because she knew change was going to come and that God had called William to bring that change. That passion for justice had already been stirred up long before she met William.