He’ll Make a Believer Out of You

When I married my husband back in 1986, his mom became my mom. As the years went by, we strengthened our relationship, shared experiences, and truly became family. Once grandchildren started arriving, our family changed our mom’s name to Mama, a name that stayed with her for over four decades.

Mama ran into the arms of Jesus this morning, October 7, 2026. Our family spent the last few days together in her hospital room sharing our sadness but also our joy. It wasn’t just a time spent learning about her medical prognosis; it was a chance for us to share stories about her.

One thing that came up over and over was the way Mama would talk to us about Jesus. She always ended those conversations with “He’ll make a believer out of you.”

Remembering this made us all smile, but it also reminded me of a few things. Mama may no longer be a phone call away, but she’s waiting for us in Heaven. And she left behind pieces of herself for us to remember her by.

Joy Only Comes From Jesus

Mama was born in the 30s, became a wife and mother in the 50s, and then a grandmother in the 80s and 90s. In between all of these milestones, she lived a wonderful life. I personally know of many highlights.

I remember a trip to Israel that she talked about for decades. I have seen pictures of fancy dinners where her natural elegance shone through. I have heard many many stories of the happiness she experienced in her everyday life. But, like all of us, her story was not simply a series of highlights. Every life has its share of sadness, and Mama’s was no exception.

Her focus was never on those negative times though. She shared with me in a recent conversation the true source of her joy.

A few months ago, while I was visiting with my husband who is her oldest son, she turned to me and said something that I couldn’t stop hearing. She told me, “I love it when you visit, but it isn’t what brings me joy.”

I inwardly wondered where she was going with her words because it sure felt like she might be saying my visits weren’t all that awesome for her. But then she went on and said, “I have joy before you come to see me and after you leave. My joy has nothing to do with my circumstances. My joy comes from Jesus.”

I let that sink in. Isn’t that the key to our Christian life? Our joy comes from the Lord. Period.

Mama didn’t focus on her circumstances to give her joy. Not at all. In fact, she was able to withstand anything because of her love for Jesus, because of the Holy Spirit who lived inside of her. And she just didn’t endure; she truly walked in His joy every day.

Love One Another

As a young wife and mom, I constantly looked to my mother-in-law as an example. She gave me a lot of good advice that I’ll never forget, but it was in my recent years that I was able to learn the most from her.

My father-in-law spent the last 12 years of his life with dementia. As too many of us know, this disease is horrible for not only the patient but their family too. Mama took care of her husband of over 60 years with patience, compassion, and dignity even though she was really too old for the job.

She spent those 12 years caring for him, loving him as he changed, and eventually sleeping only a few hours a night as she took care of the love of her life. She gently turned down help as she explained she wanted to be the one to take care of him. She lived out her marriage vows in front of all of us and taught her entire family an important lesson.

Mama selflessly cared for him. She loved him the way Jesus teaches us to love others. She put him before herself, over and over and over again.

There is no doubt that she loved him when they were married and in all those years as they grew into a family together, but it was in the final years of their marriage that she had a serious choice to make. She chose to give her own life up for his. She chose his comfort over her own. And she set an example for all of us who were watching.

Well Done, My Good and Faithful Servant

My husband’s mom had a challenging childhood to say the least. When she shared bits and pieces about it, she never focused on the bad. It always amazed me how she was able to pull out the good parts and only talk about the people in her life who had loved her and helped her. 

When she was a young mother, she lived in a world I cannot imagine. I remember listening to her stories and comparing her life to my own. Keeping in mind that she lived in a simpler time didn’t quite work because, as a young mom, I knew much of what she went through mirrored my own life.

Children are children no matter when they are born, and responsibilities that make a home work have a way of threatening to overwhelm us. I couldn’t quite imagine the life she described of working in the fields of her in-laws’ farm while cooking and cleaning without all of the conveniences we all enjoy today.

Looking at pictures of her at this time, I see the happiness on her face, clearly see the memories she was able to make in spite of the obvious hardships of that time. I stand in awe of her strength even at such a young age.

I could go on, sharing about each stage of her life. Over the years, Mama has shared so many stories. Twice, in different states, their family home completely flooded. In one instance, she literally had time to grab the two children they had at the time and a bottle of milk before the house was destroyed. The strength of this woman we call Mama is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

When I fast forward to the past few days in the hospital, I keep hearing what we all said on repeat. We couldn’t get over how strong she was, the way she physically held on, the way she gave us all time to slowly say our good-byes.

That strength is something it would be easy to focus on, but she wouldn’t want us giving her any of the credit. No, she would point me back to Jesus if I were reading this to her right now. She would want to share that He is the only one to give any of us the strength we need to live in this world the way He intends for us all.

Looking back on her life tonight, on the day that she left us and finally made her way Home, I picture her taking her last breath and then running straight into the arms of Jesus. I hear Him telling her those words we all want to hear. Her work for Him was indeed well done, and she most definitely served Him in a good and faithful manner.

Moving Forward

There’s no doubt in my mind that our Mama is with Jesus right now. And, as much as we all are missing her, I know there is no way she would come back to us even if she could. She was ready for Heaven.

Like any of us who lose someone we love, I miss Mama. I keep thinking about how I can’t just pick up the phone and call her. I know when I go to her home tomorrow that her presence is going to be everywhere. And I know I need to allow myself time to heal. Grief always takes time, even now when I am truly grateful for where she is at right now.

As much as I miss her, I know she has left something behind for all of us who loved her. We naturally have to move forward in our lives, but we will never forget how she told us that Jesus would make a believer out of us.

She shared her stories, letting us know pain didn’t have to dominate our lives, letting us know good could come from even the most terrible of times. 

And she lived out her love for the Lord every day. Every meal she served us, every holiday she used to create memories for us, every time she was there when we needed her, she never failed to include Jesus, never failed to make Him the center of it all. We couldn’t have escaped hearing about the Lord and His goodness even if we had wanted to because she chose to share about Him each and every time we were together. 

She constantly ended her stories with “He’ll make a believer out of you.” Mama understood that we all need to accept Jesus in order to be born again, in order to be with Him in Heaven when we die. She also knew we have a mission to accomplish while we’re here. 

As I live in this world without her, I’m going to remember more than just my life with her. I plan to keep in mind all she taught me over the years. 

As I focus on the Lord, I know life won’t always be perfect. It certainly wasn’t for her. 

As I look to Jesus for my joy, choose to love others, and serve the Lord faithfully, I can move forward in life. It turns out Mama was right. Following Jesus is the only way to go.

Mama shared her faith with many people and ministered whenever she could. She wanted to lead as many people to the Lord as she could. 

I know what she would say if she were the one typing these words.

Give Jesus a try. He’ll make a believer out of you.