Faithful Mothers

On Saturday I will be speaking on Women of Church History at the wrap-up for this year's women's study. It took some time, but I finally decided upon three very different women who served in very different roles to talk about. I want them to see that God uses women in different ways and that God is sovereign and faithful. Our responsibility is to do the job God has given us to do and love the people He has given us to love. 

Two of my women are famous in their own right: Jeanne d'Albret was queen of Navarre and Lillian Trasher started an orphanage (quite unexpectedly) and cared for hundreds of orphans, widows, and the blind. 

The third woman, though, is only famous because of her son. I could find very little about her and she show up mainly in the first chapter or so of her son's biography and then disappears. She is only a footnote in the history of missions in China, but she played her part faithfully.

Amelia Hudson was the daughter of a Wesleyan minister and became a Christian at a young age. Her family was poor and she had to start working as a governess when she was 16 years old. By then her neighbour, James Taylor, had already expressed his desire to marry her; however, they had to wait for him to finish school and establish himself. They were married on April 5th, 1831; eighteen months later, they were joined by a small son, James Hudson Taylor, called Hudson to distinguish himself from his father. He was followed by Amelia Jr., and other children.

Amelia was kind and gentle with a rich sense of humor. She was respected in the local church where she taught Bible classes for girls. She was also known for her hospitality to strangers, especially believers. She and James were committed to raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. When Hudson was born, they had committed him to the Lord, specifically for work in China (Hudson did not know this until he was much older).

The Taylor family attended church regularly and had times of family worship together with Bible reading, prayer, and singing. Early on, Hudson developed an interest in spiritual matters and even missionary work. Things changed, though, when a teenaged Hudson started working at a bank. There, he found that many people mocked the Christian faith and he soon joined in with them. He also became drawn to the love of money and the pleasure it could buy. He was on a slippery slope to rejecting Christianity altogether. 

When he was around 17, poor eyesight forced Hudson to resign from his work at the bank and he went to work with his father. Although his father loved him, he was too impatient with his wayward son and risked driving him further away. Amelia, however, understood Hudson better and remained kind, gentle, and patient with him. While she continued to talk to him about his need for God, she knew that the best thing she could do for him was to pray, and she did, for two years. When she was on a holiday away from her family, she felt compelled to increase the length and earnestness of her prayers. One day she felt burdened to pray for Hudson right away and spent hours in prayer. Then she suddenly believed that her prayers had been answered and began to praise God for her son’s salvation. 

Meanwhile, back home Hudson had been bored and was looking through his dad’s bookshelves for something to read. He found a tract called “Poor Richard” and, after reading the story and the words “the finished work of Christ”, he fell to his knees and committed his life to Christ. When his mother returned home and he went to tell her the news, he was surprised that she already knew because she had been praying for him all that day. He later learned that his younger sister, Amelia Jr., had committed a month earlier to pray for him three times a day until he was saved.

Hudson Taylor left as a missionary to China in 1853, knowing that his mother was still praying for him. He was instrumental in starting China Inland Missions, which was dedicated to bringing the gospel to all of China (until then, most missionaries stayed near the coast; Hudson and his organization brought the gospel as far inland as they could). When Hudson Taylor died after 54 years in China, CIM had 825 missionaries and more than 18,000 Chinese Christians had been baptized.

This is what we learn from Amelia Hudson Taylor: Even children from godly homes may turn from God to the pleasures of the world. When that happens, the best thing you can do is to pray for them. When they won’t listen to you, pray for them. When they seem to be turning further away from God, pray for them. Trust God with your children. Love them, be patient with them, and most of all, pray for them.

That's it: that's the legacy of Amelia Hudson Taylor: she was faithful to pray for her wayward son and kept trusting God for his salvation. And in that, she is a model for mothers today.

I recommend Devoted by Tim Challies if you would like to learn more about mothers of famous Christians, and the important roles they played in the lives of their sons.