October 1, 2021

A few years ago a friend of mine spoke to me about her daughter. She described the adorable baby that they prayed for. The 10 tiny toes and the 10 tiny fingers. The perfect face of a cherib. She spoke of the years growing up as the precious child grew and learned of Jesus in Sunday School and from her mom. Then her eyes filled with tears as she told me how her 16 yr old daughter had left the path she was on to follow a life of drugs, alcohol and boys. No amount of crying, threats or begging could get her daughter back. She even ran away from home so she wouldn’t have to listen to her parents. She dropped out of school and they lost contact with her. It was a nightmare for the parents. The parents were on their knees every night praying, seeking God and had their church all praying. One day they heard that the daughter was pregnant and wanted to come home but was afraid to. The mom told her friend to give her a note. The note read “DEAR & precious child, I do not care what you have done, I do not care what consequences you are facing for those actions. The ONLY thing I care about is YOU! I will ALWAYS love you, I will ALWAYS want you home with me. PLEASE come home! Call me and I will be there! LOVE, Mommy & Daddy”
The girl called her parents, they picked her up & took her home. They celebrated with her favorite foods and she was just so grateful to be home. About a week later she told her mom that as she read the letter, she was sure that it was actually written by Jesus, because those were the words she remembered from Sunday School. She said when she was younger she did not really understand the story of the prodigal son but she realized that it was her. With grace and forgiveness her mom said “ We all are the prodigal at one time or another, we just all have different journeys”. As my friend was telling me the story, she said, “I understand now why there is celebrating in Heaven when even one sinner comes to Jesus.”