My mother hated the idea that her son-in-law wanted to take her daughter to Africa.
She was adamant. Persistent. Heartsick.
Although I never admitted it to her, I understood
her opposition. I didn’t like the idea, either, but at the same time I felt I
shouldn’t let her interfere with the decision Dave and I needed to make
ourselves.
It was a painful time.
I believe God created mothers to have a
special bond with their children—after all, most of us believe our kids are
among the most precious gifts God could ever give us. That’s where my mother
was coming from.
I also believe God created mothers to try in
every possible way to protect their kids from anything negative or painful or
scary or uncertain. That, too, was where my mother was coming from.
And yet. . . . And yet. . . . There’s more than
that to the parent-child relationship.
Parents need to prepare their children for
adulthood and then. . . . they need to loosen their tight grip on the kids.
Parents can’t fight their adult kids’ battles.
They need to free them to wrestle with life and faith in the best way they know
how—and hopefully that’s with God alongside them.
At such times, the battle parents can and
should fight is this: to pray unceasingly.
Many years ago, Amy Carmichael asked herself
if she could let go of a loved one, allowing him to endure pain or loss even as
God the Father did, noting that God’s love for His Son “caused Him to give that
beloved One to suffering for the salvation of a lost world.”
She continues, “What do we know of such love?
What do I know of it? Am I prepared to give one whom I love to pain or loss, as
the Father gave, if only others may be blessed? This, nothing less, was what
the love wherewith the Father loved the Son caused Him to do. It is this love
and no other that our Lord prayed should be in us. [John 17:26: I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.]” (Edges of His Ways, 1955)
What sacrificial love Amy Carmichael offered
up!
Lloyd John Ogilvie wrote that “the special
calling of mothers is to prepare their children for service and then give them
away to follow [God].” (God’s Best for My Life)
And my mother knew so well that she had to
let God have her daughter. You see, when she was pregnant with me, her doctor
feared she’d miscarry so for months she prayed, “Lord, if You let my baby live,
I’ll dedicate her to You.” And He let me live. And later He would also ask my
mother to follow up on her promise to Him about me.
Lloyd John Ogilvie was very instrumental in
my mother’s life, and she introduced me to several of his daily devotionals. I’m
certain she read a passage in Ogilvie’s Quiet Moments With God in which he penned
a prayer asking God to give him “an attitude of fortitude.”
And I’m sure she knew from experience what he
wrote: “Lord, You have all authority in heaven and on earth. I submit my life
to Your authority. Fill my mind with clear convictions that You are in charge
of my life and those about whom I am concerned. I surrender myself and them to You.”
Ogilvie continued, “Now Lord, may this
commitment result in a new, positive attitude that exudes joy and hope about
what You are going to do today and in the future. I leave the results
completely in Your hands.” (Quiet Moments With God)
And so it was that a year before Dave and I left for Africa, I received a gift from my mother—a very precious gift
indeed. (See photo below. Don’t miss it! But get a Kleenex first.)
It was a frame containing 1 Samuel 1:27, 28, beautifully lettered: “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my
petition which I asked of Him—So I have dedicated her to the Lord; as long as
she lives, she is dedicated to the Lord. . . .”
Taped to the back of the frame was a
photocopy of another Lloyd Ogilvie devotional along with, and—this is the most
special part of all—she wrote her promise to God and to me, in her beautiful
handwriting:
“Today I reaffirm this promise to God and to
my lovely Linda! My heart and prayers will always be with you.
With humility, love and gratitude,
Mom
June 23, 1992”
God bless her for that! God bless her! I know
it hurt terribly, but she did the right thing.
And from then on, she was a huge supporter of
Dave and me and of the ministries in Africa we would soon begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment