"No" Is a Love Language • followHIM Favorites • April 27-May 3 • Come, Follow Me

Hank Smith· Co-host0:00

[gentle music] Welcome to Follow Him Favorites. This is where John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week's Come Follow Me lesson. John, we are in Leviticus today. Do you have a story for us?

John Bytheway· Co-host0:13

Yeah, Hank, this is from Brad Wilcox's book, our friend, called A Change Through His Grace, and he tells a story about the woman who's just trying to do the right thing. He said, "One single mother was struggling to rear her children in the gospel after her husband left the church and divorced her. She told me tearfully how difficult it was to be the bad guy who enforced bedtimes, stressed nutrition, required church attendance while her ex-husband did the opposite. On the weekends the children were with him, he'd let them stay up late, eat whatever they wanted, took them to amusement parks instead of church. I assured her she was doing the right thing even though it was difficult. Just two weeks later, this mother shared with me a note her oldest daughter had written. 'Dear Mom, thanks for being our mom. Dad is just trying to be our buddy. He's trying to win us over by spending money on us, but I am old enough to see what's going on, and I appreciate you for expecting us to make something of our lives. Maybe the little kids don't get it yet, but I do. [laughs] The parent with the rules is the one who really cares.'"

Hank Smith· Co-host1:24

Wow. What a great story. 'Cause that's really what