I remember when my son was a freshman at Johns Hopkins University. He was just barely 18 years of age. I was a single mom and had been so since he was 3 months old. So I had concerns of a southern lady whose son had chosen to go off to school 1600 miles away from home. I was facing a very serious surgery and a move from our previous location where we had been living for years. There were adjustments for both of us. Most of all I wondered if what I had taught him about the Lord would remain in spite of the differences he would now face from his studies and fellow students. He sent me a get well card and wrote the following scripture after his signature: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” Psalm 46:1

It is interesting how someone special to us can use a verse and it takes on a greater importance than perhaps it would have. I can’t begin to explain how he calmed my fears about what he understood from the time we had spent together before he entered the next phase of his life.

Carol Lawson