(by Shea L. Watts)
Five years ago on a fall day a mom of three was sitting outside a courtroom waiting for her son’s hearing to start. She had not seen him in many months so when he came into the building lead by a deputy handcuffed in an orange correctional suit, her breath was immediately taken away by his appearance. He looked very frail, and his eyes were sunk into his head. You could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes, but he covered it with anger. At this moment, she began to cry uncontrollably, the pain in her heart seeing her child this way was overwhelming.
Some minutes later the session that was in the courtroom ended and people were filing out. A woman that was walking toward the exit stopped and looked over at the distraught mother; she then approached her and asked if she could sit next to her. The mom nodded yes with tears still flowing. The concerned woman motioned toward the young man standing to the side and asked her if he was her son; she replied, “Yes, ma’am, he is,” then she asked his name and if she could pray for them. The kind woman held the mother’s hand and prayed, asking God to heal her son and help him find his way, and she also asked God to give this mother strength and to comfort her. The mother told her thank you and she went on her way, almost immediately she felt an inner peace come over her.
Later, in the courtroom, she sat in silence knowing her son felt such anger toward her and no one there knew she was his mother. Something came over her and she stood up and asked to speak, she told the judge who she was and voiced her love and concern for her son. Where did her hidden strength come from?
She often looks back at that day and wonders about the kind woman whop prayed for her and her son. She wishes she could tell her how much her faith and kindness encouraged her, and gave her the strength to pull herself together.
This woman took a few minutes out of her day to reach out to another person in need of hope and encouragement. Surely, God has brought her many blessings and joy in her life.
Principled Thoughts 