John Wesley might well be expected to become, as he did, the great
religious leader of his day with such a mother behind him.
“His mother, with the finer prescience that love gives to a
mother, saw in her second son the hint of some great, unguessed
future, and she writes in her diary under the head of ‘Evening,
May 17, 1717, Son John:
“‘What shall I render to the Lord for all His mercies? I would
offer myself and all that Thou hast given me; and I would
resolve--oh, give me grace to do it!--that the residue of my
life shall be all devoted to Thy service. And I do intend to
be more particularly careful with the soul of this child,
that Thou hast so mercifully provided for, than ever I have
been; that I may instil into his mind the principles of true
religion and virtue. Lord give me grace to do it sincerely and
prudently.’”--W. H. FITCHETT, “Wesley and His Century.”
(2109)
=Mothers as Protectors=--See FATHER ANIMALS UNPARENTAL.