​You have probably heard the saying “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” I’ve discovered that it came from a poem written by a man named William Ross Wallace, who lived between 1819 and 1881. The poem has four stanzas, but the one that stands out to me is this one:

Woman, how divine your mission,

Here upon our natal sod;

Keep—oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God.

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Country singer Glen Campbell, who sold 45 million albums worldwide, was actually considered a crossover between country and pop music. There was a unique quality to his voice and style. He grew up on a farm in a family with 12 children and started playing a guitar at age 4. Although Glen was raised in a Christian home and thought of himself as a Christian, he struggled with relationships, drugs, and alcohol. That’s according to an informative article on the godreports website. Glen tried to hang onto his Christian roots, but he experienced great spiritual warfare. He kept reading his Bible and praying.

In 1981 he met his fourth wife Kim, who was a Christian. She stuck with him and kept praying for him. When he finally surrendered all to Christ, God delivered him from his addictions and gave him “the peace that passes all understanding.” Glen died of Alzheimer’s in 2017.

Below is a Youtube video of Glen singing a song with great lyrics about moms called “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” The song speaks of a mother who wore the cover off her Bible. No doubt the example and influence of Glen’s mom helped to keep him reading his Bible and praying during his years of struggle. Although he didn’t write the song, it must have carried special meaning for him.

In the second month of 2018, a man who had a great impact on the entire world died at the age of 99—Billy Graham. According to the facts and trends website, an estimated 2.2 million people responded to  his invitations to receive Christ. An estimated 2.2 billion heard him preach, and 215 million at live events. He finished in the top 10 most admired men in Gallup’s poll a record number of 61 times. We all know of his influence on leaders of the world and the fact that no one was ever able to build a story of any personal moral failures by him. The hand that rocked his cradle truly did have a great influence on the world. I thought it would be interesting to find out a little about the woman who raised Billy Graham—Morrow Coffey Graham.

I found that the Billy Graham organization’s website itself has some articles about Billy’s mom. She gave birth to four children: Jean, Melvin, Billy, and Catherine. Billy said that his story of growing up on a Depression-era farm could remind people of the Walton family in the TV series. They were simpler times, but not easy times. He said they had a solid family that cared about each other. Not only did they gather for dinner and favorite radio shows, but for Bible stories and prayer.

Billy said of his mom, “Of all the people I have ever known, she had the greatest influence on me.” He felt that his parents’ prayers were one reason God directed and protected his own family through the years. While speaking on Mother’s Day in San Diego, Billy said his mom didn’t have much education but she was a godly woman. She always had devotions with the family and always loved her children. When Billy went off to Bible School, she and his dad went up to a room at 10:00 every morning to pray for him. [Now that’s dedication!]

The Billy Graham Memorial Website quotes Billy as saying he “detested going to church” in his younger years. He “preferred baseball to religion.” Finally God got ahold of his heart after a friend persuaded him to attend revival meetings.

In 1977 an autobiography of Morrow Coffey Graham’s life was published, entitled They Call Me Mother Graham. I found excerpts of the book on The Evangelical Christian Library website. An excerpt I read stated that Billy once took his mother to see President Eisenhower at Gettysburg. She saw the place where her father had died in battle. She said Billy’s drive reminded her of her father’s.

The book recounts that a man in their community named Vernon Patterson had prayed that “out of Charlotte [North Carolina] the Lord would raise up someone to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.” [Reading that gave me chills.] At the age of 16, Mother Graham wrote, Billy walked forward down a sawdust aisle in a revival meeting to commit his life to Christ. At home afterwards he threw his arms around his mom and told her, “Mother, I’m a changed boy!” She wept tears of joy that night.

A woman named Rose Adams took care of “Mother Graham” in the last years of her life. She compiled a devotional called Treasured Moments with Mother Graham. It is a collection of journal entries from Rose to Billy about things she learned from his mother. Each entry closes with insight from Billy about his mother’s life and some lessons she taught him that stayed with him throughout his life and ministry.

When stay-at-home moms are asked what they do, some may be tempted to reply, “I’m just a mom.” The truth is, there is no job that is more important or more complex. I know that many moms feel it is necessary for them to have a job outside the home, but I’m grateful my mom was able to be home with us full-time in the years before we went to school. She held a part-time job a couple of times later on. Moms who have outside jobs are really holding down two jobs. It’s a very big challenge.

I wondered how Billy Graham’s brothers and sisters turned out, but I could find little information about them. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go:  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” [KJV] It’s obvious that not all kids raised in Christian homes turn out to be true to their upbringings. God never takes away their free will, but in the backs of their minds they can never escape the things they were taught in childhood. Their early training provides a chance that they will someday return to their roots.

Sadly, we have to admit that America is now in a “post-Christian” era. It is crucial that today’s Christian moms help their children learn why creation makes more sense than evolution, how the Bible came to be and why it is reliable, and the fact that there is only one true God and one way to Heaven. Aunts and grandmas can help, too. You can find many resources on the Answers in Genesis website.