Emma, by all standards, was...
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Emma, by all standards, was a good mother. She raised her children with love, provided
the basics plus some extras, and she raised her children, she thought, to be God-fearing.
That was pretty good for a single mother in the 1970s. But she cried when she talked to
her pastor, "Why have my children all gone astray?"
Emma was a devout Christian woman, a tireless worker in the church, a teacher of Sunday school, the director of the children's choir, and active in the woman's group. When she broke down before her pastor, she confessed that none of her three children had followed her in faith, and two failed to adopt her work ethic. Her eldest son lived nearby and had a promising printing business. He was an avowed atheist, and often chided his mother for her childish faith. Emma's second child, also a son, fell in with the wrong crowd at college and was now a full-blown alcoholic. It was hard for him to keep steady work or have a lasting relationship. Finally, the daughter Emma always wanted, was the youngest by some nine years. She grew up as an only child. By fifteen, she was an unwed mother; by seventeen, she and the thirty-something man she lived with, were on welfare, moving from hovel to hovel.
Emma was heartbroken. Like Jeremiah, she urged, encouraged, and prayed for her children. But, like Jeremiah, all it got her was tears.
Emma was a devout Christian woman, a tireless worker in the church, a teacher of Sunday school, the director of the children's choir, and active in the woman's group. When she broke down before her pastor, she confessed that none of her three children had followed her in faith, and two failed to adopt her work ethic. Her eldest son lived nearby and had a promising printing business. He was an avowed atheist, and often chided his mother for her childish faith. Emma's second child, also a son, fell in with the wrong crowd at college and was now a full-blown alcoholic. It was hard for him to keep steady work or have a lasting relationship. Finally, the daughter Emma always wanted, was the youngest by some nine years. She grew up as an only child. By fifteen, she was an unwed mother; by seventeen, she and the thirty-something man she lived with, were on welfare, moving from hovel to hovel.
Emma was heartbroken. Like Jeremiah, she urged, encouraged, and prayed for her children. But, like Jeremiah, all it got her was tears.
