Within a short time after the Indians attacked her home in Lancaster, Mary Rowlandson was faced with a saddening reality. Her home and livelihood was destroyed in the attack while she and her children were separated and taken captive. Faced with new harsh circumstances and unsure of her family’s well-being, Mary was constantly searching for some form of assistance or salvation. Primarily resorting to praying and reading her Bible, Mary’s faith carried her through over ten weeks of captivity by a people she did not know and couldn’t understand. Constantly exposed to the wilderness and its elements, in Mary’s mind, by the grace of God, encouraged her to persevere through tough times.

Mary often suffered both physically and emotionally throughout the duration of her captivity but managed to find solace in her Puritan faith. Upon strokes of good fortune, Mary could be thankful to God for providing her with sustenance or with a place to sleep. When she and her captors were on the move throughout the Winter, she drew on passages in the Bible to give her strength when crossing a bitterly cold river or when carrying burdensome loads on her back. Mary’s faith carried her through her captivity and the winter up until the point of her release. Even following her release, Mary found ways to praise and thank God for providing her and her family with the new life they built upon their reunification.

To some, Mary’s faith can be an inspiration, as it gave her the courage to continue life after all seemed to be lost. However, to many modern Americans, faith in God no longer plays a vital role in our lives. Some may consider Mary to be naïve and to have placed too much responsibility in God but it cannot be denied that Mary’s belief in God saved her. Regardless of the reality of the existence of God, Mary’s story remains an inspiration as it shows the necessity to believe in something greater than yourself when faced with dire circumstances.