Ricky Skaggs Reveals the Power of His Mother's Prayers

Ricky Skaggs has never been shy about his Christian parents, especially his mother Dorothy May Skaggs. Dorothy and her husband, Hobert, who died in 1996, have always believed in Ricky and his musical talents. Performing as the Skaggs Family at churches and schools in eastern Kentucky, they seized every opportunity to spotlight their young son's picking and singing talents.

When Ricky was 7, the family moved to Nashville, hoping to get him membership in the Grand Ole Opry. While they failed in that effort, they did secure him a guest spot on the Flatt & Scruggs syndicated TV show. The family returned to Kentucky two years later. 

Dorthy never stopped praying for her children. Besides Ricky, she had three other children, Garold, Gary and Linda Skaggs. One of her prayers for Ricky is that he would graduate from high school. Ricky was supposed to graduate high school in 1971. But in lieu of receiving his diploma, he chose to hit the tour trail with Dr. Ralph Stanley. However, in the back of his mind, Skaggs always wanted to graduate high school. Moreover, it has always his mother's prayer and desire that Skaggs should graduate high school.

On June 1, 2020, his alma mater, Lawrence County High School in Louisa, Kentucky, bestowed upon Ricky an honorary high school diploma for all of his work in music. The surprise presentation happened as Ricky was participating in a virtual high school graduation ceremony for the Lawrence County High School 2020 graduating class. 

"It was an amazing surprise and answered prayer of my mom," explains Skaggs. "She wanted me to graduate before I went full time with Ralph Stanley on the road. I was about as proud of that as anything I've been given."

Unfortunately, Dorothy died on April 6 in 2001. She was 73. Dorothy's enduring contribution to bluegrass music was writing the song "All I Ever Loved Was You." It has been recorded by a legion of bluegrass acts, among them Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs on Second Generation Bluegrass, and Shenandoah on Keith Whitley: A Tribute Album. 

Meanwhile,Ricky Skaggs will be featured as a special on the show, "The Lord's Roundtable" on the Christian Truckers Network that airs in 62 different countries. You can listen to the show at: christiantruckersnetwork.org/the-lords-roundtable 

 

 

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