Feeling footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow
Forced his fond father to fork over the farthings.
And flew far to foreign fields
And frittered his fortune feasting fabulously with faithless friends.
Fleeced by his fellows in folly, and facing famine,
He found himself a feed-flinger in a filthy farmyard.
Fairly famishing, he fain would have filled his frame
With foraged food from fodder fragments.
“Fooey, my father’s flunkies fare far finer, ”
The frazzled fugitive forlornly fumbled, frankly facing facts.
Frustrated by failure, and filled with foreboding,
He fled forthwith to his family.
Falling at his father’s feet, he forlornly fumbled,
“Father, I’ve flunked,
And fruitlessly forfeited family fellowship favor.”
The farsighted father, forestalling further flinching,
Frantically flagged the flunkies to
Fetch a fatling from the flock and fix a feast.
The fugitive’s faultfinding brother frowned
On fickle forgiveness of former folder.
But the faithful father figured,
“Filial fidelity is fine, but the fugitive is found!
What forbids fervent festivity?
Let flags be unfurled! Let fanfares flare!”
Father’s forgiveness formed the foundation
For the former fugitive’s future fortitude!

The Father thought it;
Jesus brought it;
Holy Spirit wrought it;
The Bible taught it;
The Devil fought it;
And I got it.

Before her death, Judy Lawson became a spiritual Mother of scores of hardened criminals. “On her last Mother’s Day,” according to Bill Myers, “she received 40 Mother’s Day cards from men whose life she touched.” Her prison ministry began eighteen months after her son was brutally murdered.

She knew it was God’s will for her to forgive the murderer, and she had spoken the words, but she continued to harbor ill will toward the man who robbed her of her son. She had agreed to never say “no” to God, so when she heard Him saying, “I want you to love the man who killed your son” she had no choice but to fight the natural rage boiling up and to practice Christian love and forgiveness.

While visiting a prison to support a friend at a parole hearing, she came face-to-face with the murderer. She fought God, but soon, in faith gave in to His leading to speak to the man. “Richard,” she said, “my name is Judy Lawson-you murdered my son and I want you to know that I love you and I forgive you.”

The man began sobbing and the prison guards removed her from the facility. She sent the murderer letters. He sent them back. She continued to write. Her family said stop. Her pastor said stop. But her God said continue. Soon, God’s grace broke through and the vicious killer and the victim reconciled and began a ministry together proclaiming grace and forgiveness to inmates.