2Ki 4:18-19, ..19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
Women, in general, don’t get enough credit for being strong, tenacious, and courageous. They withstand and endure, where some men easily quit. Picture fatherless homes where mothers play the essential role of raising their children. In sports, especially in the black community, the majority of the players credit their mothers for their success. They mention many ways such as believing in, disciplining, and working hard jobs to provide for them; not to mention encouraging them to discover their talents, driving them to practices, and cheering them even after success is realized.
The Shunammite woman in this passage is a strong woman of faith. Her child was a gift due to kindness she did to a prophet of God (she was barren). One day this child working with his father in the field became sick. The father, possibly not knowing what to do, had his servants carry him to his mother. It is often the mother who is the best comforter, but even with her limits, she knows where to seek answers. Not long after, the child died. At this point planning a funeral would be next, not with her. She resolved to put a comma where the majority would put a period. She encouraged herself and journeyed many miles to find the man of God, and God did not disappoint nor fail her.
The mother’s splendid faith is that God can make all-grace abound toward her and her household, in that she does not give up. “By this faith women received their dead raised to life”, Heb 11:35. When people were quick to bury you because they saw no future, your mother’s faith in God was her means to propel her to keep working hard, ignoring all the noises and looking only to God. May we not disappoint their faith.