Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
The Prodigal (from a mother’s perspective)

The Prodigal (from a mother’s perspective)

Last updated on: October 29, 2013 at 9:25 am by Margaret Blair Young

The Prodigal (from a mother’s perspective) 2013-10-29T09:25:07-07:00 Margaret Blair Young

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Brian Kershiznik’s “Halo Repair”

A certain woman had a son. They were not wealthy, but she had given him her time. She had worked with him through his schooling and had helped him understand the things which he did not. She had gone to battle for him when he did mischief and begged those who expressed disappointment, “This is my son. He is a good kid. Don’t make him feel like he’s not.”

And behold, there came a day when she knew in a way that many woman know, through her intuition, that the son had a secret life. She approached him and said, “I think you have a secret life.”

And behold, the son said nothing.

The woman prayed and pondered. “How can I lead my son away from crooked paths and murky water? How can I return him to joy?” And lo, a thought came unto her. She had forgotten her own inheritance, for her grandparents had bequeathed the family a cabin in the woods, and the mother could use it. And it came to pass that the mother did sign up for the cabin, and took her son there for three days.

On the first day, the son was fishing and hurt his knee and did say unseemly words. And the mother took herself into a grove of trees and knelt, praying, “Please let my son catch some fish.” And the second day, the son did catch twelve fish.

And on that day, in the nighttime, the mother sat with her son on the porch, and they both did look into the heavens.

And it came to pass that the son said, “I’m ready to talk.” And he did tell her about his secret life, which was a fearful thing. But the mother was not afraid, for peace surrounded her, and angels were with her, unseen. And she said unto him, “We will not worry about the past, but we will move into the future.”

And the night did come upon them, and the mother slept. The son prayed and learned lessons from God, which he pondered in his heart and did not speak of, for they were sacred and for him alone.

And on the third day, as they prepared to depart the cabin, the son desired to go tubing. The inheritance included tubes, so the mother took her son to a launch point and said unto him, “I’ll see you back at the dock by the cabin.” And she did watch him leave her and float down the river.

And after the mother had cleaned the cabin and packed the car, she went unto the dock and waited. An hour passed, and the son did not return. Even another hour passed, and the son had still not returned.

And the mother did feel that which she often felt: frustration, impatience, anger. For behold, the son was beyond her control. Yea, she could not reach him.

And lo, an angel spoke unto her, though she could not see the angel. And the angel did say:

“Mother, do not be impatient. He is almost here. Wait. He is on his own path and on his own time. He needs to see you, and you need to be happy.”

And another hour passed, and the mother began to turn back. But the angel repeated, “Mother, do not be impatient. He is almost here. Wait. He is on his own path and on his own time. He needs to see you, and you need to be happy.”
And even again, the angel did repeat the words.

And behold, as the mother looked, she did see her son returning with his tube, and she smiled and waved. And the son did come back to her and did tell her of marvelous things he had seen on his river trip, for he had seen schools of salmon and even had seen a great bird pluck a fish from the water, and he was content.

And it came to pass that the mother and her son left the cabin and did return to the place of temptation, and the son did partake again and made other journeys along the crooked paths and into dark waters, and the mother feared. Yet she did remember the angel’s words, and she did not despair.

And she read of the Prodigal Son in the book of Luke and saw that the father met his son on the path, not within the household. Thus, she knew that she was called to be with her son in prayer or in person wherever he was. And she did understand that the son would need to be in another household, away from the crooked paths he knew. And behold, a way had been prepared, for the mother had a daughter in another place, and the daughter did love her brother. Therefore, the mother and daughter did care for the son, and the father did bless them all.

The father, too, had been praying, and the mother and the father counseled together, and they held hands as they blessed their son, for thy did love him with a love that would not fail.

And behold, the son did face both awful things and marvelous things on his journey, which was his alone. And he did know that his mother and his father would never abandon him. And his mother told him of angels which watched over him, and he did believe.

Uncategorized

LDS addiction recovery

motherhood

prodigal son

wayward children

Previous Post

October 26, 2013

Death of the Organist

Next Post

November 1, 2013 Making Room for Difficult Mormons and their Friends

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ancestors family conflict in the scriptures race and religion Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 November 2024 May 2024 April 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 June 2023 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 June 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 September 2018 August 2018 May 2018 March 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What mountain did Jesus ascend from into heaven?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mount Carmel Mount of Olives Mount Zion Mount Sinai