ady Lewson was not of the nobility, but received this title due to her manner of strange dress during her long life. She was born in 1700 as Jane Vaughan to respectable parents and grew up in the Strand, London, during the reign of William and Mary. At nineteen years of age, she married an elderly and very rich merchant; she now became Mrs. Lewson and lived in the quiet and well-to-do outskirts of London.
Not surprisingly, her husband did not live long after the marriage, and he left her a very wealthy widow at the young age of 26. There were many suitors eager and anxious to wed this attractive, rich, young widow, but she rejected them one and all and contented herself with raising her only daughter. When her daughter was raised and married, she embraced single retirement.
Over the years that followed, she developed many peculiarities and strange habits. She would only drink out of one teacup, because she didn’t want to pick up strange germs. She refused to let the servants dust her rooms for fear it would upset her delicate balance of good health. Because she was terrified of catching a cold, she refused to have water in the house. When the windows became grimy, she refused to have them cleaned, fearing they would shatter and kill the worker. She did not bathe in water, certain that the dirt on her skin protected her from disease; instead, she smeared her face and hands in pig’s fat (lard) and powdered and made up her face over this coating of grease. One can only imagine how she must have looked, let alone smelled!
Even Long Lives Eventually End
Not only did she become known for being extremely superstitious, but she also earned the title “Lady Lewson” because she dressed in a style that was out-of-date before she was even born. She lived during the reign of five English monarchs and enjoyed excellent health, even cutting two teeth at the age of 87 and never losing a tooth her entire life. On she lived, outliving most of her relatives, friends and acquaintances — 100, 110, 115 years. It would seem that she had attained immortality — but, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:1919In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)). And so it was with Lady Lewson, for in her 116th year, she received the shocking news that an ancient neighbor of hers had suddenly died. Shocked to the very core of her being, she stated that her time was up and that she should soon follow. And so it was — she became weak, took to her bed, and soon passed on into eternity on June 9, 1816.
Not Just “How Long” but “How” We Live
After her death, her sprawling home was opened to the curious public; it was like stepping into a time capsule, as nothing had been moved or changed for the past ninety years. Many feel that Lady Lewson was Charles Dickens’ model for the very eccentric Miss Havisham in his classic, Great Expectations. Miss Havisham was an old woman who dressed in her wedding gown every day until it was yellowed and in tatters, every clock in the house was set to 20 minutes to 9 in the morning (because that was when she received the letter from her betrothed stating that he would not marry her after all), and her wedding cake was still on display, even though it was just a mound of yellow cake covered in cobwebs and spiders. Both women, real and fictitious, lived for and clung to their memories of the past.
You may be thinking, “How foolish they were!” And yet, not realizing it, you may be living the very same way. The Bible tells us “we spend our years as a tale that is told” (Psalm 90:99For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. (Psalm 90:9)). “What is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:1414Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)). To live 116 years is a long time by man’s standards, but it is infinitesimal compared to eternity. It is not how long we live that matters, but how we live that matters. In a few short, succinct verses, God tells us how we should live. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-1413Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13‑14)). We are not left to guess how we can please God and obey Him, either. He does not want us to waste our lives by living selfishly for ourselves, clinging to the dust and cobwebs that this world has to offer, heedless of our spiritual state and eternal well-being. We are told that God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:3030And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30)). Why? “Because He [God] hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man [Jesus] whom He [God] hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him [Jesus] from the dead” (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)).
True Repentance
If we are honest with ourselves, we all know that we have sinned before a righteous and holy God. Our sins are a barrier between us and God. That is why God commands all men everywhere to repent. When we truly realize the awfulness of our sins and the terrible price that the Lord Jesus paid on Calvary’s cross for our sins, we are promised, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)). Ask the Lord Jesus to help you to live for Him. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:2121If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21)). A life lived for Jesus will be richly rewarded! “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)).
Lady Lewson seemed to live in the past with a lot of phobias after her husband’s death. Some struggle with trauma and search for meaningful relationships in other ways. Orphanage Behaviors shows the way from heartbreak to a deep and enduring relationship.