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Mother Jones was especially inspired by the words of II Timothy 3:1 -- “This know also that in the last days perilous times will come.” As she read those words, the inspiration for the song came to her from the Lord, and she jotted them down on a small notepad she had in her apron pocket.
The old family clock on the mantel (a wedding present) had been broken, and so it was 15 years after the song In Times Like These had been written, that the repaired clock began striking the Westminster chime. Mother then realized that the first four notes of the song were using this world-famous symbol of “time.” Ruth Caye Jones died in Erie, PA on August 18, 1972, following a very short bout with cancer. Her faith was not shaken, and she would tell the family that the “anchor was gripping the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus.” She, along with her husband and oldest son, founded the ministry of A Visit with the Joneses in 1948.
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Copyright © 2006 A Visit With The Joneses, Inc.
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The
well-known and loved song, In Times Like These, was written by
Ruth Caye Jones, better-known as “Mother Jones.” The inspiration came
during the days of World War II, but its words are more true today than when
they were composed. The song has been used over and over, following the tragic
days of September 11, 2001 and during the recent time of War in Iraq.
As the mother of five children
and the wife of a busy pastor, her life was full. She never aspired to doing
something “great” or “famous.” She had no formal music training. Yet God
took the song and sent it “around the world” to bless so many. It has been
recorded by hundreds of artists and is now included in many major hymnbooks.
When Mother Jones would watch as George Beverly Shea sang the song on a Billy
Graham telecast, going around the world, tears would come to her eyes and she
would say, “I can’t believe I had any part in writing this song. I just feel
that God gave it to me, and I gave it to the world.” Mother Jones had written
15 other songs, but this is her best known.