"A Second Mother"

I love being a mother and grandmother. I have two grown sons and wonderful, godly daughters-in-law. I also have three precious granddaughters and one fabulous grandson. They have all brought me immeasurable joy.

I never had a daughter. I thought after giving birth to my boys, it would be perfect to have a girl. I imagined showing her how to sew and cook and work with her hands--all the things my mother taught me. I pictured her with dark hair and blue eyes. But my third pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. There would be no daughter.

Then a couple of months ago, I took a missions trip to Nicaragua. It was our last day of walking the dirt roads through the mountain villages. Our team had been assigned to San Andreas the first part of the week. However, the last two days, we were sent to the village of Cuajiniquil. I thought it strange that our assignment was changed mid-week, but I trusted the decision of our team leader.

The first house we approached was like all the others we’d visited. The frame of the house was constructed from trees. Clay tiles covered the roof. The walls were cement or mud packed with straw. The house had electricity but no indoor plumbing. A refrigerator and microwave stood in a corner of the main room. Pretty, salmon-colored tiles covered the floor and an iguana was tied to a beam in the center of the room.

Fifteen-year-old Eileen was the only one of her family members around that afternoon. She welcomed us into her home and immediately I noticed her long dark hair and blue eyes. She was stunning.  Her soiled, tattered clothes indicated to me that although her house had a couple more appliances than others, this was still a poor family.

After introducing ourselves, I was asked to share my testimony with Eileen. She listened closely as I shared what Jesus meant to me. I told her that I’d received him into my heart as a child and that he’d never left me. There had been many people in my life that rejected or betrayed me, but Jesus had never rejected me all these years. I closed by saying He was my best friend.

After sharing, another team member presented the Gospel. Eileen was given the opportunity to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior and she responded. We prayed with her. I noticed tears in her eyes when we were finished praying. I knew she had been born again—a spiritual birth. We left her with a Spanish Bible and showed her how to read verses contained in a tract. It was a great feeling knowing another Nicaraguan had come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

On Friday night, after all our evangelizing was done, we had a celebration service for those who had received Jesus into their lives. As I glanced around at the people gathered in the cement block church, there was Eileen. She had clean clothes on and had pulled her hair back into a pony tail. She looked beautiful.

After the service, the team members were asked to stand at the front of the church while villagers greeted us and said good-bye. Eileen came to me and we found a translator so we could talk. She said that when I entered her house, she felt an immediate connection with me. She spoke of how my testimony had touched her heart. She said that now I was “a second mother” to her. Soon MY eyes were filled with tears. I hugged her tightly and then shared that I loved her and would pray for her.  Although I was going back to the United States, I would carry her in my heart as if she was my own daughter.

And I have. Eileen is in my thoughts and prayers often. I am grateful for the experience of seeing her come to the Lord.  I know that if we never see each other again, we’ll rejoice in heaven together some day.

I never had a biological daughter, but I have a “spiritual daughter.” And this special kind of motherhood has also brought me great joy.

Happy Mother’s Day!  
Copyright, 2012, Annalee Davis