Kathy Schiffer reminds us of the power of a mother's persistent prayers:
Her son was a wild one.
She had tried to impart solid virtues and a lively faith—but her atheist husband quashed that with his brusque way and bad example.
So when her eldest son reached his teens, he broke away—rejecting Christianity for an occult religion, and preferring an easy life of casual relationships and carefree sex. He fathered a child out of wedlock.
When her son had first begun the drinking, the carousing, the reckless lifestyle, she had turned her back in grief, forcing him out of the house. She had a mysterious dream, though, in which a messenger assured her “Your son is with you.” With hope that he would reject his evil companions and return to his faith, she welcomed the unrepentant young man back into her home.
The experiment was an apparent failure, for the son did not repent. Finally at 29, he abandoned his mother in the middle of the night—slipping away, traveling to a foreign land, without even saying goodbye.
Heavy hearted, she prayed continually for her beloved son.
For THIRTY YEARS.
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The story is heart-wrenching, and the theme is all too familiar to many contemporary families.
Children of strong families grow and may, as young adults, hear the siren song of a society which scorns traditional values. They may fall prey to cultural morés which encourage “hooking up” or “living together” or casual sex. Fearing the consequences of their choices, they practice contraception or choose abortion. Beset by cognitive dissonance, instinctively recognizing that their new, “free” lifestyle is incompatible with their faith, they may drift away from church—sleeping in on first one Sunday morning, then another, until their conscience is numbed, and indifference and agnosticism become the new normal.
They may scarcely notice the twinge of guilt when they think about how far afield they’ve come from their parents’ expectations.
* * * * *
But the story doesn’t end in defeat.
No, it doesn't. Read the rest of Kathy's post and find out how it ends.
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