Amelia Hudson Taylor is not a well-known woman; you probably haven’t heard of her unless you’ve read a biography of her son, and even then, she usually disappears from the book pretty quickly. When I was researching her, I tried Google and I got the Amelia Hotel in Hudson, New York, and articles generally about her daughter (also called Amelia) and her son. Everything I know about her comes from the first chapter or so of her son’s biography and Devoted, a book about godly mothers, by Tim Challies. And to tell you about Amelia, I will need to talk about her son almost as much as I talk about her!
Amelia Hudson was the daughter of a Wesleyan minister and became a Christian at a young age. Her family was poor and she had to start working as a governess when she was 16 years old. By then her neighbour, James Taylor, had already expressed his desire to marry her; however, they had to wait for him to finish school and establish himself. They were married on April 5th, 1831; eighteen months later, they were joined by a small son, James Hudson Taylor, called Hudson to distinguish himself from his father. He was followed by Amelia Jr., and other children.
Amelia was known to be kind and gentle, with a rich sense of humor. She was respected in the local church where she taught Bible classes for girls. She was also known for her hospitality to strangers, especially believers.
She and James were committed to raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. When Hudson was born, they had committed him to the Lord, specifically for work in China (they did not tell Hudson until he was much older).
The Taylor family attended church regularly and had times of family worship together with Bible reading, prayer, and singing. Early on, Hudson developed an interest in spiritual matters and even missionary work, saying that he was going to be a missionary in China. Things changed, though, when a teenaged Hudson started working at a bank. There, he found that many people mocked the Christian faith, and he soon joined in with them. He also noticed the very rich in the bank and became drawn to the love of money and the pleasure it could buy. He was on a slippery slope to rejecting Christianity altogether.
When he was around 17, poor eyesight forced Hudson to resign from his work at the bank and he went to work with his father. Although his father loved him, he was too impatient with his wayward son and risked driving him further away. Amelia, however, understood Hudson better and remained kind, gentle, and patient with him. While she continued to talk to him about his need for God, she knew that the best thing she could do for him was to pray, and she did, for two years. When she was on a holiday away from her family, she felt compelled to increase the length and earnestness of her prayers. One day she felt burdened to pray for Hudson right away and spent hours in prayer, determined to pray until she was confident that he would be saved. Then she suddenly believed that her prayers had been answered and began to praise God for her son’s salvation.
Meanwhile, back home Hudson had been bored and was looking through his dad’s bookshelves for something to read. He found a tract called “Poor Richard” and, after reading the story and the words “the finished work of Christ”, he fell to his knees and committed his life to Christ. When his mother returned home and he started to tell her the news, he was surprised that she already knew because she had been praying for him all that day. He later learned that his younger sister, Amelia Jr., had committed a month earlier to pray for him three times a day until he was saved.
Hudson Taylor left as a missionary to China in 1853, knowing that his mother was still praying for him. He was instrumental in starting China Inland Missions (CIM), which was dedicated to bringing the gospel to all of China (until then, most missionaries stayed near the coast; Hudson and his organization brought the gospel as far inland as they could). When Hudson Taylor died after 54 years in China, CIM had 825 missionaries and more than 18,000 Chinese Christians had been baptized.
This is what we learn from Amelia Hudson Taylor: Even children from godly homes may turn from God to the pleasures of the world. When that happens, the best thing you can do is to pray for them. Love them, be patient with them, and most of all, pray for them.
We see God at work in Amelia’s life as well. God had big plans for Hudson Taylor, and He put Amelia in the right place at the right time to be the mother Hudson needed to prepare him. From her, he learned hospitality and to care for others; he learned patience with those who turned away; and he learned the power of prayer in the life of a believer. Amelia’s faith was great, as can be seen most clearly in her unceasing prayers for her son, both in his childhood, through his rebellious years, and as he served in China.
by Miss Dorothy
