The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

Author:Sally Clarkson [Clarkson, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56410-8
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2009-01-21T00:00:00+00:00

Icouldn’t put it off any longer. Settling into my desk chair with a strong cup of coffee, I determined that I would start my chapter on faith no matter what! There are so many aspects to faith, and it is such an important issue that I agonized over the project, wondering how I could convey faith in real-life, everyday terms that would motivate and inspire moms to pass on this important concept to their own children.

Just at that moment, the phone rang.

“Hi, Sally! It’s Vickie. I have so much to tell you that I just had to call!” Vickie and Tom are friends whose life story has had an encouraging impact on me. Watching them walk through their difficulties and challenges, which are far greater than those of almost anyone I know, has taught me a lot about what practical faith looks like. Vickie always has a gentle and quiet heart of praise for “all the wonderful ways God has shown us his faithfulness!”—even though at times it has been hard for me to understand what she means! To me, her circumstances have often seemed almost hopeless, yet she’s kept a song on her lips for the Lord. Month by month, she and her family have lived out a testimony of faithfulness to God not only through their words but through their tenacious trust.

Tom and Vickie had enjoyed a good marriage and a pretty normal family life for a number of years. They found joy and fulfillment in raising their two children—a boy and a girl—and moving into their dream home had been the cherry to top it all off. Then, as their children grew older, Tom and Vickie developed a strong conviction that the Lord wanted them to have more children. The only problem was that Vickie had had surgery to prevent pregnancy. Reversing the procedure was possible, but it would cost twelve thousand dollars!

As Vickie and Tom spent time in prayer before the Lord, they sensed in their hearts an even stronger conviction that the Lord wanted them to have more children. They came to the conclusion that they should sell their lovely home, move into a smaller house, and use the extra money for the reversal surgery. Not long afterward Vickie became pregnant. The whole family was delighted with the prospects of having a baby in their home. However, Vickie soon miscarried this baby and then another. When she finally became pregnant for the third time, it was with much joy but guarded anticipation.

As soon as their precious little son Stephen was born, however, it was evident that he had severe health problems. A Down syndrome baby, he was born with heart problems and stomach problems and developed chronic lung problems very early.

Vickie and Tom were devastated. This is not at all what they had expected. But God spoke to them through his Word, urging them to have faith. They determined to hold fast to their precious Lord and believe that he “causes all things to work

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