True Parents' History for Children

"This is the sixth in a series about True Parents' life written for children and first published in the Blessing Quarterly."

Many years ago, in the year of 1944 when World War II was still going on, Father was in Japan. He had been going to school and working there for several years. Now the time had come to return to Korea.

Wartime is dangerous, because there is lots of fighting and bombing going on. You never know when you might run into a battle or get hit by an exploding bomb. In spite of all the dangers, God wanted Father to return to Korea at this time. Father loved God the most, so he was willing to follow His directions, even if it meant his life was in danger.

During the time Father was living in Japan, his mother, who loved him dearly, used to think about him day and night. She was always wondering what he was doing and when he would return home to Korea. Father loved his mother very, very much. So when it was time to return home, the first thing he did was send a message to her to tell her when his ship would be arriving and exactly where it would arrive in Korea.

His mother was overjoyed when she received his letter. At last her beloved son was coming home! She had been praying for his return for so long, she could hardly believe the time had finally come.

Suddenly, however, a few days after receiving his letter, his mother's smiles turned to tears. She received a terrible message! It said that the ship Father was on had been bombed by an American B-29 plane and had sunk. She was completely heart broken, and all she could think of doing was going to the port where the ship should have come in. Perhaps there were survivors.

She ran out the door, out the gate, and down the road. She ran for miles and miles through the countryside of Korea. She never thought about herself. She didn't notice that she was hungry and thirsty. She didn't notice that she had forgotten to put on her shoes. She didn't notice the pain as she ran over the rocks, or when she landed on a sharp stick. She ran bare footed all the way to the port!

All she could think about was that her son had sunk with the bombed ship. What were the chances he could have survived? He was probably dead! For a mother who loved her son so much, this was the worst possible thought. She was frantic with worry.

Mothers do love their children more than their own lives, and she really showed this kind of true heart.

Finally, she arrived at the port, panting and holding her side. She waited for news. She asked everyone she could find whether they had heard anything. No one had any answers.

Then, she got a big surprise! Somehow she learned that Father wasn't on the ship that had sunk, after all. Because Father is so important to helping God fulfill His Will, somehow, with God's protection, Father had changed ships at the last moment. Therefore, Father arrived safely at the port in Korea on a later ship.

When his mother saw him coming down the gang plank, she was the happiest mother in the whole world at that moment. You can just imagine how excited she was to see her son walking off that ship, alive and well! She jumped and cried for joy. This really moved Father's heart to see how much his mother loved him, and as he hugged her tenderly, he cried with her.

It wasn't until about a week later, after she had calmed down from the excitement of seeing her son safely home, that his mother noticed that she had hurt her foot on a big splinter. It was sore and infected. But she didn't care. She still smiled and sang all day long. That day Father learned a lesson he could never forget: that the love of a mother or father is truly the greatest love of all. He could never forget how she ran bare footed all those miles because she thought he had been killed.

Father loved his mother so much, and yet he loved God even more. That is why he was able to travel during dangerous war times. Just as Jesus had taught his disciples to love God first with all their heart, Father always did that. Therefore, God protected Father even in war days to bring him safely home.