When God created Adam and Eve, both had God-given specific roles. Eve was to be the mother of all living. She and her daughters would be co-creators with God, and with that role, it seems that He granted unto mothers that special inspiration necessary to protect and guide their children.

Sometimes we call this gift ‘a mother’s intuition.'

The greatest calling that a woman can receive in this life is that of a wife and a mother. So on this Mother’s Day, I would like to share a special Mother’s Day story.

The producer of my stories on the radio since the beginning has been Carl Watkins. We have worked together as a team for many years to present these stories to you as a public service.

Carl’s mother Verda Louise Watkins turned 100 years old on Mother’s Day, 2017. Thus, I would like to share a special story of the timely inspiration of a good mother.

Carl’s father, Roy, enjoyed salt-water fishing in Southern California. One day Roy went fishing taking along his wife Verda, and 6-year-old Carl. While Roy began fishing, Carl crossed to the other side of the pier to swim in the ocean. Concerned, Verda asked Carl if it was safe. Carl reassured her that he had gone swimming there before, and there was nothing to worry about. Carl scampered off, but Verda still uneasy followed him.

Carl fearlessly charged off into the water, where immediately a huge wave buried Carl and slammed him down onto the sand. As the wave receded, it took Carl with it. As the force of the wave dissipated, Carl got up and began to run. But before he could run even five feet, another wave pounded him down and dragged him back into the ocean even further.

Carl had never seen waves like this [these] before. They seemed taller than a house. Three more waves hit in succession and dragged him out to sea. Carl was in a dangerous undertow and he was losing the battle. Lying face down on the sand under the water, exhausted and starving for air, Carl felt that surely he was going to drown.

Terrified, he began to pray. The impression then came for him to drive his fingers and toes as deep into the sand as he could, which he did – just as another wave broke over him, and notwithstanding his death-grip on the sand, the wave continued to pull him out.

Just then Carl felt a hand clutch his left wrist and pull. It was Verda, his mother, pulling as hard as she could. Verda pulled Carl to his feet, and mother and son began to run. They barely escaped the next crashing wave.

Mother’s intuition, my friends, is a gift from the Almighty. Because Verda obeyed that gift, her only child Carl was spared. If [she had] not, he surely would have drowned.

It is astonishing how obeying one simple prompting from the Spirit can have incalculable consequences in the future. Carl would live on to give Verda seven grandchildren and her twentieth great-grandchild born in this same month as her 100th birthday. Out of the small and simple thing of listening to a still small divine voice, the great thing of a noble posterity has come.

Happy Mother’s Day to Verda and to every mother who listens.

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A letter from from Verda Watkins:

My memories of a time we almost lost the life of our son, Carl, at age 7.

On a summer weekend in 1951, Roy (my husband) wanted to go fishing from the pier in Balboa beach. So Carl and I went along.

Soon after getting settled on the pier, Carl wanted to go over to the other side of the pier. There was [were] huge rocks, boulders parallel to the pier jutting way out in the ocean. We climbed over and around [the rocks and the pier] to get to a nice sandy beach.

On arriving there, the tide went out – no water – so Carl went running way out to reach the water. I was watching, and could see a huge swell building up; then a wave forming 15 or 18 feet high. I called to Carl to come back. The wave broke on him, I started running after him. A huge wave broke on me. Carl started back, but the huge wave broke on him. Carl was struggling to get back. I was trying to reach him. Waves kept braking on me, as soon as one passed, I kept running to reach him. I could never imagine the power and strength of that under tow. While the tide was washing back to sea, I could feel the sand literally washing out from under my feet. I could only try to reach Carl after each wave crashed on me. He was out so far. I guess about 3 waves broke on me before I reached him.

We locked arms, and another wave broke on us. I dug in my toes; the sand was sliding out. As soon as it passed, I gave one big pull, and we ran fast back to shore.

The waves were so strong, it really stirred up the sand. I had a lot of sand in my hair, bra, and watch.

We walked back on the sand toward the car. On leaving, I noticed a sign aimed at anyone entering the beach “Dangerous Under tow”. When we came, climbing through the rocks, and pier, we could not have known about that sign. I’m sure glad our guardian angel was watching over us, and especially, watching over Carl.

I have swam in the ocean since age 14, and never had a problem, but that was in Long Beach where the beach is more protected from high tides.

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A note from Carl Watkins:  

For many years, I did not know exactly where this event occurred.  My mother didn't know and my father had passed away in 2002.  So on vacation around 2012, I was driving along the California coast south of Los Angeles, and I found a location with a large beach area on the right side of a long rock pier extending into the ocean.  It was identical to what I remembered from when I was six years old.  I believe it was in the summer, and I turned seven on September 16, 1951. To my knowledge, there is no other similar location with a long pier of rocks along the southern California coast.  So I have concluded that this event occurred at "The Wedge" in Newport Beach, north of Balboa Beach, which is also famous for such huge waves and undertoe.