My name is Eileen Marston and I have been passionate about writing poetry for as far back as I can remember. In 2007 God put the desire on my heart to use my verses to develop and create Poetry Gift Cards to raise funds, and be sold with 100% of the profits going to Churches, Christian organisations and other charitable causes.
Born in South East London in 1964, I moved when I was 18 months old with my mother and father to Cyprus to live the early part of my life, where my father was posted with the RAF. I was raised in a Catholic household with my younger sister and I grew up believing in God. I was introduced to the Bible through my parents from a very young age and enjoyed building on my faith through Sunday school and the church schools I attended. Having lived with a visual impairment from birth I don’t always see the world around me in its physical sense. However, even as a child I can remember being able to to sense the presence of God in my life. My school years were not easy being sight impaired; I often struggled to keep up with school work and was exposed to bullying not only by peers but also, at times, by teachers who, back in the day, had much less understanding of pupils living with disability. These negative experiences knocked my confidence but never destroyed my determination to move forward and keep trying my best to achieve what I could with my physical limitations.
After my school days I tried a number of jobs before eventually being accepted (into what I believe to be a calling on my life) to do nurse training at the Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas' Hospital London, during which time I gained a scholarship to study an area of children’s health at The Michigan State University USA. On return I specialised in paediatric nursing at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. My visual problems have caused me to face many trials through my career, however, I have remained continually mindful that if God calls us to a particular task He will see that we are equipped to carry it through; I have always been encouraged by the scripture in Joshua 1:9.
Whilst still nursing in London and living in Greenwich, I met my husband Peter, then a Naval Officer, and we were blessed with 2 beautiful sons Thomas and Louis. Since then we have lived in many locations in the UK and abroad.
In 2002 I completed an Alpha course which helped me to encounter an even deeper connection with God. As I finished the Alpha course I was walking across a meadow one afternoon and stopped to sit on a bench when I suddenly felt God was putting some words on my heart; this turned out to be a poem called: ‘The Love That I Have Found’ which you can read in the ‘poems/articles section of my website.
When Peter retired from the Royal Navy we felt a strong desire upon our lives to buy a holiday and restaurant business in SW France. In 2007 we left the UK to start our brand new venture in the Lot et Garonne and worked tirelessly to develop this stunning and very beautiful resort over the next 7 years which was in itself character building to say the very least! My inspiration to write poems overflowed as my faith in God increased during those challenging years. The regular prayer walks around our 15 acres of countryside with it’s log cabins, camping emplacements, fishing lake, swimming pool, thanking God for giving us stewardship of Le Cabri and trusting in His Will and provision for us to to be able to continue remaining a viable business. During those years God guided us in wisdom in the way we used our finances and ran our business. We felt God led us set up a charity shop on the site to raise funds for a Children’s charity and we sold the Poetry cards in aid of this excellent cause.
For a number of reasons, including my husbands mental health breakdown due to post military PTSD after 7 years we realised our time in France was coming to an end and we were blessed to find somebody to lease the business which they have been doing ever since. We had a Christian friend in Spain who encouraged us to move there as opposed to heading back to the UK. After prayer and careful consideration Spain became our new home from 2013 – 2017. It was here that Peter and I started to volunteer for Revelation TV, a global Christian TV channel where, amongst other duties, I served on the Prayer Line and helped with the presentation of programmes. My poems and associated messages have been aired at Revelation TV ever since and are used regularly on the channel to help encourage people in their walk with God. My poetry cards are advertised through the channel at Easter and Christmas time and continue to be sold in their thousands to viewers around the UK and Europe.
For a number of reasons, including my husbands mental health breakdown due to post military PTSD after 7 years we realised our time in France was coming to an end and we were blessed to find somebody to leasse which the business which they have been doing ever since. We had a Christian friend in Spain who encouraged us to move there as opposed to heading back to the UK. After prayer and careful consideration Spain became our new home from 2013 – 2017. It was here that Peter and I started to volunteer for Revelation TV, a global Christian TV channel where, amongst other duties, I served on the Prayer Line and helped with the presentation of programmes. My poems and associated messages have been aired at Revelation TV ever since and are used regularly on the channel to help encourage people in their walk with God. My poetry cards are advertised through the channel at Easter and Christmas and have sold in their thousands to viewers around the UK and Europe.
In 2017 we moved to Oxford where I did a Return to Nurse Practice course to be able to pick up again on my career and continue with my nursing. Since then I have also completed the initial stage of a course with Parish Nurse Ministries Uk to enable me to work pastorally as a nurse within a church setting with a particular interest in the healing ministry. Peter is developing his career in the area of mental health and the boys are progressing well with their education and the desire to continue with their great passion to travel and keep up there language skills in French and Spanish.
Poetree For Life currently supports ¨Revelation TV¨ specifically with their ‘Building Fund’ and the charity UGACOX which stands for the Ugandan Community of Oxford who are developing a self-sufficiency programme in one of the poorest districts of Uganda. Please click on the ¨Nominated Charity¨ Tab for further details.
I hope you will enjoy the Website and the Poems. If you have any questions or would like to contact me please do not hesitate to do so. I would love to hear from you.
Eileen