As I tearfully watched you grasp the reality that you would soon breathe your last breath, I joyfully watched my son (over FaceTime) pull out his guitar and sing to you:
All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give…
I surrender all, I surrender all…
All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
And then, before Brandon said his final farewell to you, he said, “I love you Mamo… Thank you for having my momma. And thank you for teaching her about Jesus.”
Yes, Momma… Thank you for having me, and thank you for teaching me about Jesus.
Thank you for taking me to church and exposing me to Truth. I learned about Jesus from the Bible stories you read to me. I decided to follow Jesus at one of the summer camps you had to make personal financial sacrifices to provide a way for me to attend. (Funny how as a child it never occurred to me what you had to give up so I could enjoy so many of these things I then took for granted.)
Six months before you breathed your final breath, God allowed me the privilege of watching you genuinely surrender your heart to Jesus. As I sat by your bedside, you tearfully realized that the religion you had trusted in for so many years did not have the power to change your heart––or to cleanse you from your sins.
I wept with you, as you cried out to God in repentance, I can still hear your sweet little voice: “Father, forgive me. I want to be your child.”
Oh momma, how could we have known that in only six short months from that day you surrendered to Jesus, you would be standing in His very presence worshiping around the Throne?
Oh how glorious it must be to look into the eyes of our gentle Savior and sing “All to Jesus I surrender” for all eternity. How I long to stand next to you one day and join in that chorus.
But for now, I will remember the price that was paid by our Savior so your eternity with Him is secure.
And, I will remember how God chose you––a mere teenaged girl—to be my momma so many years ago.
And when I remember, I will thank God for the courage He gave you––to forsake your carefree teenaged years, to be my mom.
And I when I meet a teenaged mom, I will hug, pray for her and her baby, and tell her how grateful I am for your selfless courage. And I will encourage her that one day, her child will come to realize all that she gave up to answer the most glorious calling of all time––the ministry of motherhood. And she will have NO REGRETS.
Momma, “Thank you” doesn’t express fully my gratitude. But, I know you know. And, one day soon…when I see you again, I’ll hug your neck and take your hand and follow you all around the streets of gold so you can show me all the glories of heaven.
I love you, Momma, see ya soon.
#NoRegretsWoman
