Refuge

My mother is currently in hospital because she is suffering from kidney disease. I was with her yesterday for several hours. Even though I found it difficult to understand what she was saying, when she smiled at me she radiated the love of the God she has known all her life.

My mother is a woman of prayer and reads the Bible with avid devotion every day. This year she started reading the entire Bible for the tenth time. Her faith in God has always been her refuge and her source of strength in difficult times. Her giving spirit has led her to provide shelter to the helpless, attend to the sick and feed the hungry. She has repeatedly said to us: ‘My children, the legacy I leave you is to follow Christ.’

Though her medical condition is serious, I know she is secure in the arms of our Lord. Her loving example reminds us that in days of prosperity and adversity we can find refuge in God.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for providing loving examples of faith. Help us to follow them, as we pray: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’