ARE ALL THE CHILDREN IN ?

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Do you have children?

If you do, the one thing you are concerned about more than any other--is their salvation.

I recently reviewed Ken Mansfield's book, Between Wyomings, in which he related a story about his mother's concern for him:

My mom prayed for my brother's and my salvation for three decades. She never judged me for my complete rejection of the gospel nor condemned me for my New Age years. She just kept praying for us. She should have passed on from her illnesses long before she did, but she lived on for her boys. As soon as my brother and I were both saved she passed on shortly afterward. ...There is an old song written by Craig Starret, entitled "Are All the Children In," which says it all when it comes to my mom:

When I'm alone I often think of an old house on the hill
Of a big yard hedged in roses where we ran and played at will
And when the nighttime brought us home hushing our merry din
Mother would look around and ask--are all the children in

Well it's been many a year now and the old house on the hill
No longer has my mother's care and the yard is still so still
But if I listen I can hear it all no matter how long it's been
I seem to hear my mother ask--are all the children in

And I wonder when the curtain falls on that last earthly day
When we say goodbye to all of this to our pain and work and play
When we step across the river where mother so long has been
Will we hear her ask a final time--are all the children in

(Although the theme of this post is about the concern of a mother, I realize that fathers are concerned about their children too. I want to wish all fathers a Happy Father's Day!)