It was a sad time for Mrs. Wilson when her husband died, but she knew the Lord Jesus as her Saviour and that she could depend on His help. She asked Him for the wisdom needed to raise her family of six girls and one boy. It was her heart’s prayer that they would all grow up to love and serve the Lord Jesus.
One by one, each of the girls accepted the Lord Jesus as Saviour and Friend, but Steve would not listen. He wanted his own way and finally left home to get away from his mother and his mother’s God.
Just before Steve left home, his mother bought him a little Bible. She wrote his name in the front and gave it to him, lovingly urging him to read it every day and to accept the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. Steve said nothing but put the Bible in his suitcase and left.
Sometime later Mrs. Wilson received a letter from Steve, saying that he had gotten a job on a small ship and would soon be leaving port. Then anxious months went by, and she heard nothing more.
About a year later, she heard from another sailor that Steve’s ship had gone down, and everyone on board had been lost. “Did you know a Steve Wilson?” the frantic mother asked him.
“Steve Wilson? Sure, I knew him. He was a rebel ... always in trouble.”
Poor Mrs. Wilson. She had loved her willful son and had prayed for him daily, but now he had no doubt drowned and was lost forever. But our God both hears and answers prayer. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:11Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (Isaiah 59:1)). God had not forsaken this poor mother.
Two years passed—sad years for Mrs. Wilson that were filled with many tears. Then one day a sailor came knocking at her door. Always interested in their stories of the sea, she sat and listened to this sailor while he told of his adventures.
“Once,” the young sailor said, “another sailor and I escaped from a shipwreck and were able to swim together to a small island. Inside his shirt he had tucked a little book his mother had given him. It had been completely soaked with salt water, but he dried it out the best he could and spent all his time reading it. He cried about his sins and life and prayed a lot. He told me that before he left home his mother had prayed and pleaded with him to believe in Jesus as his Saviour. There on that island he told Jesus that he was a hopeless sinner and trusted Him for salvation. Just before he died he gave me this book and said, ‘Here, Josh. Take this and read it, and I hope it will be used by God to save your soul, as it has saved mine.’ Then he squeezed my hand and died in peace.”
With a trembling hand, Mrs. Wilson reached for the book, and there inside the front cover were the words, “Steven Wilson, with much love from your mother.” The writing was faded from the saltwater, but it was still readable. How her heart rejoiced to know that Steven was saved from his sins, and she would certainly meet him in heaven. Now the tears in her eyes were tears of joy!
ML-11/09/2008