June 15, 2023 - Proverbs 29-31

Solomon asks, “An excellent wife who can find?” (31:10) May I interject this very personal observation? Well, I did! And may I just let Judson W. Van De Venter’s lyrics suffice for our daily thoughts? As I reflect on them, I cannot help but remember the old pastor’s encouragement to Monica as her son, Augustine, headed off to Rome: “Monica, can a child of so many prayers ultimately be lost?”

I never can forget the day

I heard my mother kindly say,

“You’re leaving now my tender care;

Remember, child, your mother’s prayer."

Whene’er I think of her so dear,

I feel her angel spirit near;

A voice comes floating on the air,

Reminding me of mother’s prayer.

I never can forget the voice

That always made my heart rejoice;

Though I have wandered God knows where,

Still I remember mother’s prayer.

Though years have gone, I can’t forget

Those words of love- I hear them yet;

I see her by the old arm chair,

My mother dear, in humble prayer.

I never can forget the hour

I felt the Savior’s cleansing power;

My sin and guilt He canceled there,

’Twas there He answered mother’s prayer.

Oh, praise the Lord for saving grace!

We’ll meet up yonder face to face,

The home above together share,

In answer to my mother’s prayer. --Judson W. Van De Venter (1896)