Looking back, I now see where the Lord was working in my life during many ups and downs, but there was one particular time when I could no longer deny that Jesus was real. I grew up going to church with my family, but faith was not something that was ever discussed at home. I never learned or understood that God’s love was given as a gift. When high school and college rolled around, I decided I couldn’t live up to God’s expectations to earn His love.
That all changed when my beloved Mama developed pancreatic cancer. I was married with two young children and living in Dallas while my mom was getting sicker and sicker in Indiana. In my helpless devastation one evening, I confided in the mom of my son’s classmate. Carol and her family attended the same church as us. They brought their own Bibles to church and studied them as a family, which I found a little odd. She asked me that night if I was a Christian. I was a little offended. I said, “Well, Carol, you know we go to the same church.” After some mumbling around on my part, she said, “Well, if you’re not sure, can we pray right now for you to receive Jesus into your heart?” I have to tell you that part so you can understand what happened next, which was life-changing for me.
During my last visit with my mom, I just sat next to her bed because she was not coherent most of the weekend. When it came time for me to leave, I stood at her doorway with my luggage, announcing that I needed to head to the airport. She stood up and walked across the room to me. With her face aglow and a loving smile, she placed her hands on my cheeks, looked into my eyes, and said, “I’m going to make a place in Heaven for you.” Somehow, I knew this was Jesus speaking through my mom. In my heart, I could no longer deny that Jesus was real. It wasn’t until later, when I started studying the Bible, that I came across His words to me in John 14.