March 17, 2006

A mother’s prayer

By Dave Renshaw

The year was 1956. I was 5 when my mother became very ill. Extensive tests revealed she had advanced colon cancer. Her doctor believed surgery, and possibly a colostomy, was the only answer. He warned Dad that Mom had only about a 10 percent chance of survival.

“Are you going to die?” I remember asking Mom before the operation.

“No, son,” she told me. I asked her how she knew. She told me she had asked God to let her live long enough to raise her three boys in the way of the Lord. She had such faith.

Before it was time for the scheduled surgery, Mom’s colon burst. She was rushed to the hospital and taken into surgery. By the hand of God, she survived the colostomy and was soon on the road to recovery.

About a year and a half after Mom came home, she became very ill again. Tests showed that the cancer had returned. Dad was again told that the illness was very advanced and doctors gave Mom little hope of survival.

Before the operation, once again I asked Mom if she was going to die.

“No,” she replied with unwavering conviction. “Remember, son, I’ve asked God to let me live long enough to raise my boys in the way of the Lord.”

Once again she made it through. We all praised the Lord.

More than two years went by before the cancer appeared a third time. Once again before her surgery, I approached my mother. This time, I didn’t have to ask her. “I know,” I said, “you asked God to let you raise your boys in the way of the Lord.”

Once again, Mom made it through.

We buried Mom two years ago on her 82nd birthday. In that time, not only did she raise her sons in the way of the Lord but she also was a strong witness to her daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and any of our friends who happened her way.

Some would say it just wasn’t Mom’s time to die during those operations all those years ago. But my brothers and I know what happened. It was simply a case of a Father looking down on one of His daughters and saying, “I hear your cry.”

Dave Renshaw attends Living Waters Chapel Assembly of God in Apple Valley, Calif. (Bruce Taylor, pastor). Endorsed by Rev. Finis Bradshaw.