An Act of Love
Patsy Li’s life with her newfound mother did not go well. Ruth Li had been raised in a strict household where much was expected of the children. She felt it her duty to impose the same kind of discipline on her daughter. Since Patsy had only spoken French for years, there was also a language barrier that made intimate conversations impossible. Back in Singapore, Mrs. Li became estranged and then divorced from her husband, causing more tension and insecurity for Patsy. The young girl became increasingly rebellious.
In 1949 a desperate Ruth Li turned again for help to Father Frederic Gehring, now living in Pennsylvania. At her and Patsy’s request, Father Gehring arranged for a guardian and admission to a private school in Williamsburg, Virginia. Patsy seemed to flourish in America, making friends and excelling in academics. She successfully graduated from Catholic University and entered training to become a nurse.
Throughout these years Father Gehring tried unsuccessfully to bridge the gulf between Patsy and her mother. Patsy, however, could not get past her feelings of abandonment. After a lot of prayer and conversation focused on this problem, the story of Moses’ mother finally occurred to the priest. This Hebrew woman had also been forced to abandon her baby to save it. He told Patsy:
You see, there can be times when a mother deserts a child or seems to desert it for very good reason. Moses’ mother left her youngster in an act of love. Your mother’s ‘desertion’ of you was an act of love, too. Your mother has never lost her love for you, Patsy. She has told me that many times, and even though she finds it hard to get this across to you, I have never doubted her.212
Father Gehring’s patient and biblically based counseling led to the final miracle in Patsy Li’s story, reconciliation between a long-estranged mother and daughter.
When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
—Exodus 2:10