5 Lessons on Trusting God to Make Things Right from the Story of a President’s Betrayed Daughter
Spiritual Life
Audio By Carbonatix
By Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com
Founding Father and former U.S. President James Monroe has resurfaced in the news because of his eldest daughter, Eliza Monroe Hay, who served as acting First Lady during the Monroe administration (1817-1825). Eliza’s story ended tragically in Paris, France, where she passed away in desperate poverty and far from home in 1840. The accepted historical narrative for nearly 200 years was that she was a difficult woman who had abandoned her family and country to live out her final days abroad. But now, thanks to the tireless efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers, her remains have been brought home to the United States to be laid to rest with her family. This incredible journey of repatriation began when biographer Barbara VornDick, while researching Eliza’s life, felt that the unflattering historical “script” about her didn’t add up. As a grandmother herself, Barbara found it difficult to believe that Eliza, also a grandmother, would simply quarrel with her family and abandon her grandchildren to die in a foreign land. Driven by the sense that there was more to the story, Barbara began a years-long investigation.
What she uncovered was a hidden history of betrayal and injustice. Far from abandoning her family, Eliza had been wronged by a family member who stole her inheritance, leaving her destitute and stranded in Paris. Barbara prayed often for guidance during her research and says God led her to long-lost documents and inspired key people to help her piece together the truth.
The result was a complete rewriting of a chapter of American history that shows how God’s justice can prevail, even across the centuries. It offers important lessons for our own lives, especially when we’re grappling with situations where we have been wronged. It teaches us how to trust God to bring justice in his time, how to forgive and move forward without bitterness, and how to answer the call when God asks us to help right the wrongs we see in the world.
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God Is Just and Righteous
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” – Psalm 89:14
God is a God of justice. While we live in a fallen world where injustice seems to thrive, the Bible assures us that God’s character is rooted in righteousness.
This conviction was the driving force behind Barbara’s quest. When she began to uncover the discrepancies between the historical legend and the facts of Eliza’s life, she felt a moral and spiritual imperative to act. “It wasn’t just about correcting a historical record; it was about honoring the dignity of a real person who had been unfairly judged,” Barbara said. “Her reputation had been maligned, and that was wrong.”
Eliza had served as acting First Lady during her father’s presidency (1817-1825) because her mother, Elizabeth, was seriously ill. Misunderstood, she was unfairly branded as power-hungry when, in reality, she cared for her mother, reorganized White House social life to protect her, and took care of many other people who were ill, including during two epidemics. Barbara realized that the negative descriptions of Eliza as a “firebrand” or “bossy” were likely the reactions of a society that didn’t know what to do with a strong, intelligent, and capable woman who “was likely a woman ahead of her time.” Barbara added: “These qualities of taking charge and getting things done and being intelligent (and likely contributing her views in social gatherings) were attributes we would admire today, BUT were not seen as ‘ladylike’ in 1800s America. I think people didn’t know how to react to Eliza because she was not quiet and demure.”
The injustice of the false narrative weighed heavily on Barbara. She explained, “I knew I had to tell Eliza’s whole story. It would be the first time anyone had told the truth about Eliza, and it was important.”
When we’re faced with injustice, whether against ourselves or others, we can anchor ourselves in the truth of Psalm 89:14. God’s throne is founded on justice, and he will ultimately make all things right. We can trust God to let his justice flow through our lives.
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The Truth Will Come Out
“For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” – Luke 8:17
One of the most frustrating aspects of being wronged is the feeling that the truth is buried and will never be known. But Jesus promises that what is hidden will one day come to light.
Barbara, not a trained historian, had to learn along the way and often felt overwhelmed by the tedious work of archival research. Yet every time she hit a dead end, she said God provided a way forward. “At times, it was like a whisper in my ear,” she recalled. “Sometimes it was like an idea dropped into my head of where to find the documents I needed.” God’s guidance was sometimes even more direct. “Sometimes, I actually heard phrases telling me what to do. I know that sounds crazy, but why is it that when we say we talk to God people say we’re praying, but when we say God talks to us they say we’re crazy? I actually heard phrases. Sometimes it seemed like an angel, and sometimes like God, but that voice told me where to look for information.”
A breakthrough came when Barbara sought records from the American Consulate in Paris. An archivist discovered that the files had been misfiled under the wrong century. Those misfiled papers contained the key to dismantling the old myth. They included an inventory of Eliza’s possessions at the time of her death: two traveling trunks filled with clothes and papers, but not a single household item. This was powerful evidence that she had not established a permanent home and likely intended to return to America.
When we feel that the truth of our own situation is hopelessly lost, we can remember how God helped bring Eliza’s story to light. No lie is safe, and no secret is permanent, when God decides it’s time for the truth to be known.
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God Works Throughout History
“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” – Psalm 100:5
It is easy to become discouraged by the slow pace of justice. We often want resolution now, in our time. But God operates on an eternal timeline, and his faithfulness extends across generations. The wrong done to Eliza happened in the 1830s, but redemption unfolded nearly 200 years later.
Tracing and contacting all of Eliza’s descendants for their permission to repatriate her remains, as French law required, was daunting. “It took months to track down all of Eliza’s descendants,” Barbara said. The challenges didn’t stop there. The French cemetery authorities delivered another surprising requirement: because an American Consul named Daniel Brent had purchased Eliza’s grave plot, his descendants now technically owned it, and their permission was also needed. Along the way, God provided everything Barbara needed – including revealing an entire branch of the Monroe family tree she hadn’t known about before, and inspiring every single descendant to support the effort. “That’s a LOT of steps that all fell into place,” Barbara recalled. “There is no other explanation except divine intervention.”
God’s goodness and faithfulness truly endure to all generations. He can connect people across centuries and untangle the most complex human histories to achieve his good purposes.
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Wait with Confidence for God to Work
“Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” – Isaiah 30:18
The process of waiting for God to work in his timing can be long, painful, and filled with moments of doubt. Barbara’s journey was challenging. “At times I would despair and become tired and frustrated, but I learned that those times are when I needed to turn to God!” she said. Her prayers were simple and honest: “God, I think you want me to do this, and I want to do your will, but I need your help.” God answered Barbara’s prayers in tangible ways throughout her research work. “The answer would come! It was incredible. And along with the answer was a renewal of my energy, and I was able to keep moving forward. I had always believed that Jesus is with us always, but during this research and repatriation process, this fact became so tangible to me. It was indisputable! I knew it in my heart, in my mind, and in my soul. It was a revelation for which I am so grateful, and my life is forever changed by this realization.”
When she had no idea how to raise funds or manage logistics, God provided volunteers with expertise in finance and public relations. Later, when the burial itself seemed impossible to finance, a generous person she hadn’t met before offered to pay the remaining costs. Barbara recalled her friend Maureen’s steady reminder: “… stop worrying about how we were going to get Eliza home because God was going to do it when he was ready.” Looking back, Barbara reflected: “She was right, and he did. God had his timing on when the repatriation and reinterment would happen, and how it would happen, and who would make it happen.”
For those of us waiting on God, this is a vital lesson. The waiting is not passive. It’s an active trust, a confidence that even when we are at our weakest and most discouraged, God is at work, preparing to be gracious and show mercy in his perfect time.
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Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8
Barbara and her team acted justly by correcting the historical record. They loved mercy by treating Eliza’s memory with compassion and respect. They walked humbly by acknowledging that the entire project was dependent on God’s guidance and provision.
God often invites us to be part of his work of justice and restoration. He gives us opportunities to stand up for what is right, to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves, and to bring healing to broken situations. When asked what she would say to encourage others to answer this call, Barbara’s response was full of passion. “I would say do it! It is exhilarating and rewarding to feel like you are doing God's will. GOD’s will! Think of it – participating in the plan of God, King of the universe!”
It’s a duty that’s part of letting our light shine in this dark world, as Jesus calls us to do in Matthew 5:14-16, she said. “If God gives us an opportunity to right a wrong, we have an obligation to do it. It's the right thing to do. We have a moral obligation to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. We have a moral obligation to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves; the unborn, the indigent, the ill. What is ‘right’ is what is in the light, the light that Jesus talks about. We must always live in the light, and illuminate the light for others.”
In conclusion, the story of how God worked through history to restore Eliza’s reputation and repatriate her remains reminds us that our God is a God of justice who hears the cries of people who are wronged, even across centuries of time. It shows that no truth can be hidden forever and that God’s faithfulness extends to every generation, weaving together the most tangled threads of history to fulfill his purposes. It also teaches us about the nature of faith. It is a faith that waits with confidence through periods of doubt and exhaustion, trusting in God’s perfect timing and provision. Most importantly, it’s a faith that acts. It is a faith that compels us to speak up against injustice, say “yes” when God calls us to participate in God’s redemptive work, to overcome evil with good, and to stand for justice and mercy in a world that desperately needs both.
Barbara pointed out that she “could not have done this alone.” Her story is a testament to what can happen when one person, feeling a nudge from God, steps out in faith. She concluded that the entire project was, and is, “a labor of love for me, and affected me deeply. I am forever changed.”
We can all trust God with the injustices in our own lives, release our bitterness, and open our hearts to the ways God might want to use us to make wrongs right. When we participate in God’s great work of restoration, we too may find ourselves forever changed.
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