When Life HurtsSample

My mom’s moment

As I was studying the book of Job recently, a thought moved me to tears. It was about the moment my mom stuck with Jesus.

Soon after I was born, my mom got pregnant with a third son, a little guy my parents would name James (aka Jimmy). But I don’t remember him, because Jimmy didn’t make it. Born sick, my little brother survived six weeks before he left this earth and joined Jesus in heaven.

While I knew the basics of my brother’s death, I had never considered the temptation my mom must have faced to walk away from Jesus. She was a churchgoing woman, the one who took (and occasionally dragged) me to worship every Sunday. The reason I grew up with the gospel was because of my mom. The reason I came to love my Bible was because of my mom. The reason I read Mark 8 and decided to become a pastor was because of my mom. And the reason I sat in my office that day preparing to help people deal with their pain was, in essence, because of my mom.

She could have walked away. She could have gotten angry and turned her back on God, assuming he had first turned his back on her. But she didn’t. She stayed. Even though her faith was severely tested, she stayed.

Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). I’m so glad my mom agreed with Job.

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