I was impacted by the story of the Savior that Goddard uses in the first chapter of his book, “Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage.” He relates the interaction of the Savior with a certain lawyer. We are all familiar with the scripture in Luke 10.25, “Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead of Jesus telling him what to do he asks, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” (vs. 26). As I read this and contemplated some of the points that Goddard brought out about this scripture story, my mind was immediately taken to a recent conversation with my son.
To give some background on the story, my daughter called me and said that she was coming to spend some time with her five-year-old son in a city that my son resides, but her brother, who lives in this city, was reluctant to give her a place to stay. My daughter has not lived a life that is consistent with the gospel, so I could see why my son was reluctant to have her stay. My son has young children and he would be concerned about the influence of his sister on his children.
So, I felt like I should try to intervene between my two children. When he called, as he does each Sunday, I talked about pleasant things and fun things and enjoyed the grandchildren, but I thought the spirit was prompting me to talk of the request of his sister. I asked first how he felt about the request for shelter from his sister. Trying to follow the Savior’s example, I wanted him to express his answers first. “How do you feel about that?” He related how his sister makes him feel angry when she rolls her eyes at him when he talks about what he believes. “Have you talked to her about how that makes you feel.” He did not want to confront her because he hates confrontation. I asked him to pray about it and find out how the Lord felt about his decision to not give her a place to stay. I said, “I feel that she needs all of our love and understanding, even though we do not agree with her life choices.” Then both my son and his wife felt that the concern for the children was more important than charity for the sister. I told him that I understood that and that he should put his wife and children first. After a few minutes of addressing the question, he fell silent and shut down a bit. I would have to say that he was stonewalling.
That night I did not sleep very well at all. Then when I read that account of the Good Samaritan, I wondered what the Lord would have me do as a mother. Should I continue to encourage my children to stay friends with their sister, or should I respect their wishes to keep her at an arms distance? I felt as I read the account of the Good Samaritan, told by Goddard. That my daughter could very much be the traveler taken by thieves. She is one of God’s children caught off-guard by the teachings of the world and taken by it. Does that mean that we should pass her by like the priest and the Levite, or should we always be there to bind up her wounds and carry her to safety?
We all took the risks to take the long journey from Jerusalem to Jericho, and just because we have not fallen to thieves like my daughter, does that give us the right to make her an outcast in our family? My mind went to the Savior. What would he do if my daughter had asked Him for shelter? Absolutely, he would open his door wide to her and welcome her in. If we all knew our trials before we came; could this lost child of mine have known that she would make these choices. Or, is her suffering at the hands of her brother just a consequence of her choices. What would the Lord have me do as a mother of these two siblings? I am unsure at this time because I don’t know if I could soften the heart of my son without alienating him. I do know that this is going to take more prayer and fasting.
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