[328 words]
There was a widow who was trying to raise twin sons on her own. When the boys turned 18 and graduated from high school, they thought they could do whatever they wanted. So they stopped going to church and started going out at night to some very unsavory places.
Their mother kept begging them not to go those places. She told them that would end up getting into trouble, or worse.
One evening in the middle of winter, the boys got dressed to go out. Their mother begged them not to go. Then she told them, “I’m going to pray for you to return home safely and I won’t stop praying until you do return home. I’m going to do that every time you go out to one of those places.”
Their mother proceeded to get up from the living room, put on her jacket and to go into the front yard and get on her knees to pray…in the snow. It was below freezing outside.
Both of the boys laughed at their mother. They said, “She’ll come in when she gets cold.”
But that night, neither young man could shake the image of their aging mother—on her knees—in the snow. Finally, after only an hour, they went home.
Their mom was still there, in the front yard, on her knees praying in the snow. They had to carry her in because all the feeling had gone out of her legs. They were afraid that she was going to get frostbite, perhaps even lose her legs.
They never again went out to one of those unsavory places. In fact, both of those boys started going back to church and became leaders in their congregation in Tennessee.
What makes a mother Godly is her love and commitment to her family and to God. When all others forsake you, you can know a Godly mother will stand by your side because she cherishes you (Proverbs 4:3).
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX