A Joyous Memory of Mother

by Chuck Cleveland

Had she lived, she would be celebrating being 108 years old in 2022, and this incident, I trust, would have been the highlight of those years. It certainly was for me.

Both my parents had gone to church in their youth, but there was no discernable evidence to suggest either was born again. We went to church a few times during my teenage years, but nothing was ever said about how to be saved. Nevertheless, about a year after my father passed away, I became a Christian at the age of 24. My mother was not at all receptive to that news, and we drifted apart over the next 17 years.

The situation went from bad to worse when Mother developed dementia, whereby she became unable to think logically. I despaired of her condition, thinking she would never be able to understand and respond to the gospel. My younger brother moved Mother from Florida to California (where he lived) and placed her in a nursing home.

I called many times in the next few months, but she was always incoherent. One Sunday morning, I was reading in the first chapter of James when I encountered, “Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (1:27). The message was clear to me— call my mother. The good news is I did so. The notso-good news is I informed God it was a bad idea and would do no good.

Miraculously, when Mother was brought to the phone, her mind was clear. After a short delay to gather myself, I presented the gospel as to how “we” could be forgiven. “You too?” she asked.

Her question was the key to my belief that real spiritual business was transacted. She was clearheaded enough to ask a logical question—why, indeed, would someone who had already become a Christian need to do so again?

Mother prayed to receive Christ that afternoon, but it was the last time we spoke intelligibly before her death. Fortunately, we can speak again in heaven.

About The Author Chuck Cleveland lives in Newnan, GA and has written for three area magazines, as well as the local newspaper. He has been a Christian for over 50 years.