Stepping Heavenward

I was sick for a couple of days last week so I stayed home which gave me time to finish the novel by Mrs. E. Prentiss 'Stepping Heavenward'. Most of my friends read it in their teenage years but I finally had the chance to read it. God has a way of getting my attention just at the right time even as He prepares me for motherhood. One of my old roommates gave me this book almost three years ago. And then, for my bridal shower LaVon spoke about this book, encouraging me to love God and to love people even through trials. God put that book right in front of me once again to remind me the true value of a godly mother. I just heard an interview about the latest biography of Mrs. Prentiss 'More Love to Thee' by Sharon James . God knew that I needed my thoughts to be turned away and focus on Him. The girl had a wonderful godly mother in the novel and it is amazing story of a young "woman's journey to godliness." I heard on the interview that it is partly biographical. Her mother comes to live with her in the later years and here is what she describes her mother. "It is a pleasant picture to see her with my little darlings about her, telling the old sweet story she told me so often and making God and Heaven and Christ such blissful realities. As I listen, I realize that it is to her I owe that early, deep-seated longing to please the Lord Jesus, which I never remember as having a beginning or an end, though it did have its fluctuations." If you read the book, you will know the reality of her fluctuations. She describes her mom as "the living personification of the blessed gospel of good tidings" and this book challenged me. I fall short of this example even as a wife but to see how this faltering sinful young woman became more like her mother is encouraging. Today, we often categorize our Christian duties (Titus 2 ) into many parts or programs and put them in a priority list. But these women did all of that as one single duty without neglecting any of them individually. There is nothing wrong about planning and prioritizing but often we miss out how God providentially works through those little details as we start our day completely dependent on Him for strength.