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We recognize that when we choose to serve with Live|Dead our families back home pay a price. Their sacrifice is silent, and often unnoticed, as life is lived thousands of miles apart. Here are some words of wisdom from a Live|Dead mom. 

Children are a gift from the Lord.

I have always believed this.

God blessed us with three wonderful boys. As we raised them, our thoughts were turned to the many Scripture verses in the Word about children.

It was on our hearts to raise our children to love and serve God.

When one of our boys chose to become a pastor, I felt such joy. How pleased his father, by then at home with the Lord, would have been! And his grandmother, also at home with the Lord, too. She loved the Lord and would’ve been so pleased to see my son’s choice to serve the Lord full time. It was easy to feel such joy.

Then came the day when my son informed me that he was going into full time missions.

Again, I felt joy in seeing his love for the Lord in wanting to serve Him in this way. But when I learned where he would be serving, it was harder to feel joy. A place of great darkness, where to be bold in your faith might cost you your life! Now I was scared. I didn’t want my son or his wife to be in such danger!

It would have been easy to express my fears to them with the hope that they would choose another place to serve. The fears were real. No mother likes to think of her child being in danger. I know that I did mention my fear to my son. And I realized that if I didn’t want to hamper his ministry, I was going to have to deal with my fear.

Truth #1: He isn’t mine.

In this process, the first thing I needed to realize was that while my son was my child, he ultimately belonged to God. I was given the privilege of raising him, but he had made the choice, as an adult, to give his life to God and therefore belonged to Him.  This was the first step in conquering the fear that lived in my mind.

Truth #2: Trust God.

The second truth I needed to learn was to trust God completely. It’s easy to say that we trust God, but what does that really mean? Do I trust God in the easy things, or can I trust Him in the hard things, too? Can I trust God for my son’s life? Scripture offers no guarantees that just because one is serving the Lord no calamities will befall one. Can I trust God in this? I had to learn to say yes, I trust You, God, even with the very life of my son.

Truth #3: God is Glorified.

And third, I needed to look at the big picture. I know that God loves my son, even more than I ever can. God sees the big picture: His love for all of us, the proclamation of the Gospel, that He would be glorified. And the truth is that sometimes in the proclaiming of the Gospel and His love for mankind and in giving Him glory, some of His saints may lose their lives. That, too, is part of the big picture.

It’s the only thing that makes such a thought tolerable for a parent.

The promise that such a sacrifice would not be in vain, that it is a part of God’s plan, and that I would see my child again, is what gives me peace in the midst of worry.

So for me, every day is a new beginning when I relinquish my claims on my son and give him into the hands of his heavenly Father, knowing that He knows best and always sees the big picture. It’s the step I take in trusting Him completely, even with the hard things, and in acknowledging that He is the Lord of ALL areas of my life. And it gives me pleasure to know that my son is wholeheartedly serving His Lord, even in the midst of danger, as part of the big picture.

I like this verse: Ps. 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

This is what I need to do: to be still, and to cling to what I know. He is God! And He will be exalted. My son’s role in serving is part of this promise that God will be exalted. And in that, I find much joy.

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