Showing posts with label Angst in Child-Loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angst in Child-Loss. Show all posts

Monday, June 20, 2016

Monday's Mourning Ministry - Does Jesus Care?





"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." ~Psalm 34:18, New Living Translation:



Monday's Mourning Ministry

Does Jesus Care?

~George Beverley Shea and Guy Penrod









We are bereaved.

We are broken.

We are inconsolable.



We are like Rachel 

weeping for her children...

and 

refusing 

to 

be 

comforted.*




(Jeremiah 31:15 NASB)





We are like Hagar in the wilderness:

"Do You see me God? 

Do You see me 

in this 

wilderness of despair 

with 

no 
hope 

apart 

from 

You?"

(Genesis 16:13)*






In the brokenness of our hearts, 

we wonder 


if God sees, 

if God hears, 

if God has forgotten, 

if God has abandoned us? 


We ask ourselves, 

Does God really care about me? 

Does Jesus care?




And God says to us
as He
said 
to 
Hagar




for the Lord Has heard your painful groans...

Genesis 16:11 (Net Bible)








Does Jesus Care?

~George Beverley Shea and Guy Penrod



  1. Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
    Too deeply for mirth or song,
    As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
    And the way grows weary and long?
    • Refrain:
      Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
      His heart is touched with my grief;
      When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
      I know my Savior cares.

  2. Does Jesus care when my way is dark
    With a nameless dread and fear?
    As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
    Does He care enough to be near?
  3. Refrain:
    Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
    His heart is touched with my grief;
    When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
    I know my Savior cares.

  4. Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
    To resist some temptation strong;
    When for my deep grief there is no relief,
    Though my tears flow all the night long?
  5. Refrain:
    Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
    His heart is touched with my grief;
    When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
    I know my Savior cares.

  6. Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
    To the dearest on earth to me,
    And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
    Is it aught to Him? Does He see?
  7. Refrain:
    Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
    His heart is touched with my grief;
    When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
    I know my Savior cares.
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.




~~~





"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
           He rescues those whose spirits are crushed." 


~Psalm 34:18, New Living Translation












Grief Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/63683782205419268/

* Quotes from The Inconsolable by Julie Jones written in memory of her son, Kyle Christopher Jones

NASB: New American Standard Bible

Net Bible: New English Translation of the Bible

Does Jesus Care Lyrics by Frank E. Graeff, 1901

Song, Does Jesus Care on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kheJYjttzY4


Friday, March 20, 2015

Friday's Faith - Hope Amidst Groaning




May Your unfailing Love rest on us, O LORD,
even as we put our Hope In You.

~Psalm 33:22 NIV



Friday's Faith

Hope Amidst Groaning





Hope? Amidst Groaning? How do these two concepts fit together at all? 

How can we "hope" and yet "groan"?

Who of us Child-Loss Grievers "hope" to see our child again, nevertheless we "groan" all the while? I would hazard to guess, 100% of us! 

Hopeful Groaning feels like an oxymoron doesn't it? 
How can the two fit together? Shouldn't we be "hopeful" and "joyful" at the same time? That certainly seems to be the American way! 

And yet, we must admit, our hearts are still broken... even as we hope! Is there any hope for such a grieving parent?

How merciful God is to us to have had the apostle Paul explain how these two concepts do fit together in God's own Holy Word! Read on and see what you think...


Paul says in Romans 8 (yes, the same chapter that concludes by reminding us that absolutely nothing can separate us from the Love of God!) that everybody, and everything, in fact the "whole creation," groans inwardly until we see God's full redemption of our bodies...

Read this passage of Scripture, ponder it, question it, compare it to your situation, and let me know what you think...




Romans 8:18-27, New International Version:


I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. 

But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but 

the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express

And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.





What about you? Do you struggle with the continual sorrowful groaning over your child who is no longer here, even as you hold onto your hope for seeing your child again in Heaven?






Sunday, April 20, 2014

Blessed Easter~ Missing my baby...








Blessed Easter~ 

Missing my baby...




"Missing my baby girl so badly today! Dreamed about her last night ~ (She was a little baby in my dream, but was talking to me :) ~ after just having written a poem to her yesterday that I put on my blog today... so it was a Very hard day today. But I am still O so thankful that her Savior and mine died and was raised out of wondrous love for us so that we can live in Heaven forever with Him! What a Loving Lord we serve!"




After I put the above comment in Facebook tonight along with the Winnie the Pooh picture of "Always Loved, Always Missed"  a dear grieving mother friend wrote the following:


"Yes, dreams about our precious babies are so special, but we miss them more than ever when we awaken to face the next day without them." 


This was my response back to her:

 O E., o so true ~ It's like we've had a little visit with them, and then we awaken, and they're not here... It's so hard. I was thinking yesterday and said to God,

" I would love a little visit with her..."

(I would never want her to have to leave Heaven because there's no way I would take that happiness from her, but I thought if I could just visit her up There for a little bit ~ then I quickly changed my mind because I said, 
"But God if I could SEE her, I know I could NEVER let her go again!" 
This pain is SO hard isn't it? ~Love you so sweet sister of the heart; I am so sorry you are in this pain too~

My friend later wrote back,


"You're right Angie, we would never want to let them go again. There are no words to explain the intense pain we experience."


After I had posted all of this on Facebook, and of course began bursting into tears, Tommy said, 

"You have got to put that (Facebook entry) on the blog too ~ We all feel that way but we've never talked about it on the blog!" 



So I am sharing it here with you tonight! 



Blessings to all of you precious grieving mothers and daddies as we all deal with this very difficult longing and pain over our precious "little" ones who are no longer in our sight!

And dear God please help us as we continue to walk through this terrible pain without our babies!








Picture, thanks to another Facebook friend, 

My Special Angel: For Loved Ones Lost







Monday, May 27, 2013

Monday's Mourning Ministry - "Talitha, Koum!" / The Voice of My Beloved ~Cynthia Clawson







Monday's Mourning Ministry

"Talitha, Koum!"

/

The Voice of My Beloved

~Cynthia Clawson







In Scripture, when Jesus was asked by a father, a man named Jairus who knew he was about to lose his daughter, to come to his home and lay hands on his daughter who was about to die, Jesus was very responsive and went right away with Jairus to the man's home. Even though people from his home town came and found this father in the crowd of people traveling with them, to tell him not to bother Jesus any more because his daughter had already died, Jesus ignored the people and told the father, a synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 

When He arrived at the house, Jesus questioned the many people that had already gathered there inside the home, why they were making so much noise weeping and wailing, and said, "She is not dead, only asleep." The people began mocking Him, full of disbelief, so Jesus threw them out of the house. Jesus then took the child's father and mother and His three disciples into the room where the little girl was;.He then took the little girl's hand, and said the now famous words, "Talitha, koum!" - Aramaic for, "Little girl, rise up!"


~~~




Jesus could have said these words to my child as well on that night that was fatal for her, but He did not... Ofttimes I wonder why He didn't utter those words to her that night… And yet, I imagine what my child must have heard when Jesus did call to her that night… Was it the voice of her Beloved as the song so tenderly describes, as she heard, "Precious child, rise up, and come to Me!" 

Either message Jesus delivered was His voice of love calling out to both girls. Either message He uttered was a message of love. In a different, but equally loving way, my child heard His words, "Talitha. koum!" "Baby girl, rise up!" And for that I am so very grateful… If she could talk to me tonight to describe it to me, would she tell me what she heard that night… words similar to Clawson's? 

"Hear the voice of my Beloved 
gently call at close of day:

'Come my love, come and meet Me!
Rise, oh rise, and come away!'"







Hear the Voice of My Beloved

~Cynthia Clawson

(Gaither Homecoming)



Hear the voice of my Beloved
Gently call at close of day:
"Come my love, come and meet me!
Rise, oh rise, and come away!"

Winter’s Dark will soon be over
And the rain is nearly done
Flowers bloom and trees are budding
Time for singing has begun.

I have waited through the Shadow
For my Lord to call for me.
Now the Morning breaks eternal
In its light His face I see
Now the Morning breaks eternal
And at last His face I see.

When you see the fields re-budding,
You will know the summer’s near
And when you hear the words I’ve spoken,
You will know My coming’s near!
So keep on listening, my beloved,
For My coming’s very near!



~~~~~



Mark 5:21-43 (The Expanded version of the Bible):


Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

21 When Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him there. 22 A leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, came there, saw Jesus, and ·fell [bowed; knelt] at his feet. 23 He begged Jesus, ·saying again and again [earnestly saying], “My daughter is dying. Please come and ·put [lay] your hands on her so she will be healed and will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed Jesus and pushed very close around him. 25 Among them was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years [Cprobably a chronic menstrual disorder]. 26 She had suffered very much from many doctors and had spent all the money she had, but instead of improving, she was getting worse. 27 When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his ·coat [cloak; garment]. 28 [For] She ·thought [said], “If I can just touch his clothes, I will ·be healed [get well; be saved].” 29 Instantly her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease.

30 At once Jesus ·felt [perceived] power go out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 His ·followers [disciples] said, “Look at how many people are pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32 But Jesus continued looking around to see who had touched him. 33 The woman, knowing that she was healed, came and fell at Jesus’ feet. Shaking with fear, she told him the whole truth. 34 Jesus said to her, “·Dear woman [Daughter], ·you are made well because you believed [your faith has saved/healed you]. Go in peace; be healed of your disease.”

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. ·There is no need to bother the teacher anymore.” [Why trouble the teacher anymore?”]

36 But Jesus ·paid no attention to [or overheard] what they said. He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. 38 When they came to the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus found many people there making lots of noise and ·crying loudly [weeping and wailing loudly].39 Jesus entered the house and said to them, “Why are you ·crying [weeping] and making so much noise? The child is not dead, only asleep.” 40 But they ·laughed at [ridiculed] him. So, after ·throwing [putting] them [all] out of the house, Jesus took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room where the child was. 41 Taking hold of the girl’s hand, he said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means [in Aramaic, the language Jesus commonly spoke], “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 At once the girl stood right up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) Everyone was completely amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl something to eat.










Picture, thanks to, "Hope for the Broken Hearted" 
Grief Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-FGjI4WVG4

Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday's Mourning Ministry - When You're Gone ~Avril Lavigne






Monday's Mourning Ministry

When You're Gone

~Avril Lavigne









When You're Gone

~Avril Lavigne




I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it OK
I miss you

I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it OK
I miss you

We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I do, I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe, I need to feel you here with me, yeah

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it OK
I miss you










Graphic, thanks to ~Our Angel J.W.'s Heavenly 18th Birthday in Heaven 
Grief Video: http://youtu.be/kxLbNA6GHVw

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Saturday's Sayings - Grief's River: "Swimming in Hope's Channels"







Saturday's Sayings

Grief's River: 

"Swimming in Hope's Channels"







Missing someone can get easier every
day because even though it's one day 
further from the last time you saw
your loved one, it's one day closer to
the next time you will.


~~~


You want to wash yourself 
in earth, in rocks and grass

What are you supposed to do
with all this loss? 



 ~Margaret Atwood

~picture, via In Memory of Lost Loved Ones



~~~~~




We come at last to the
dark and enter in.

We are given bodies
newly made out of their absence
from one another in the light
of the ordinary day.

We come to the space between
ourselves, the narrow
doorway, and pass through
into the land of the
wholly loved.



~ Wendell Berry

~picture, via Grieving Mothers



~~~~~




There are many things in life 
that no one understands,
like why a life so very young 
can slip right through our hands.

One moment life is perfect 
and the next it falls apart,
leaving us with nothing 
but an eternally aching heart.

Our souls cry out in agony 
amidst the suffering and despair.
We feel the pain and scream, 
"It's just not fair!"

Spirits are now shattered. 
Hearts will never be the same.
We grasp at straws and seek to find 
the one who is to blame.

Horrific as our life now seems, 
one thing remains quite true.
Our little ones have now been freed 
to do things angels do.

They can't recall the suffering 
of those last days they were here.
They remember not the sorrow, 
the hurt, nor the fear.

There are no tears in Heaven. 
No more sorrow. Only Joy.
Heaven is filled with peals of laughter 
of each little girl and boy.

We can only try to imagine, 
in spite of all earthly wrongs,
our little angels are learning 
the words to the Angels' songs.

Amidst the children's laughter 
and their Heavenly play,
there's also more important work 
going on there today.

God is building mansions, 
never taking time to sleep,
for Reunions are being planned, 
yes, even as we weep.

The children gather around Him 
and listen to Him speak,
for He has all the answers 
that they curiously seek.

He tells them for a time, 
in Heaven, they must wait,
and then they can greet us 
at Heaven's pearly gate.

~via In Memory of Lost Loved Ones



~~~~~





"It is frequently said that the grief of a Grieving Mother is the most intense grief known. When a child dies, parents feel that a part of them has died, that a vital and core part of them has been ripped away. The grief caused by their child's death is not only painful but profoundly disorienting.....children are not supposed to die. These parents are forced to confront an extremely painful and stressful paradox; they are faced with a situation in which they must deal both with the grief caused by their child's death and with their inherent need to continue to live their own lives as fully as possible. Thus, Grieving parents must deal with the contradictory burden of wanting to be free of this overwhelming pain and yet needing it as a reminder of the child who died.


"Grieving parents continue to be parents of the child who died. They will always feel the empty place in their hearts caused by the child's death; they were, and always will be, the loving father and mother of that child. Yet, these parents have to accept that they will never be able to live their lives with or share their love openly with the child. So they must find ways to hold on to the memories. Many Grieving parents come to learn that 'memories are the precious gifts of the heart...[that they need] these memories and whispers, to help create a sense of inner peace, a closeness.'"



~via Grieving Mothers



~~~~~




My grief is like a river---
I have to let it flow,
But I myself determine 
Just where the banks will go.

Some days the current takes me 
In waves of guilt and pain,
But there are always quiet pools 
Where I can rest again.

I crash on rocks of anger---
My faith seems faint indeed,
But there are other swimmers 
Who know that what I need
Are loving hands to hold me 
When the waters are too swift, 
And someone kind to listen 
When I just seem to drift.

Grief's river is a process 
Of relinquishing the past
By swimming in Hope's channels 
I'll reach the shore at last.


~via In Memory of Lost Loved Ones



~~~~~




In life, it doesn't matter if you're happy or in grief;
your angels are always watching you, 
giving your heart (the) comfort of God's love.

~via TOuGhtS tHoTs N sImPly ThOuGhTs 



~~~~~





~via Beth's Photos



~~~~~




If I knew it would be the last time 
that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly 
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time 
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss 
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time 
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word 
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, 
I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you," 
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do,

If I knew it would be the last time 
I would be there to share your day,
well I'm sure you'll have so many more, 
so I can let just this one slip away,

For surely there's always tomorrow 
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance 
to make everything right;

There will always be another day 
to say our "I love you's,"
And certainly there's another chance 
to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong, 
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you 
and I hope we never forget,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, 
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get 
to hold your loved one tight...

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, 
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, 
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time 
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone, 
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, 
whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them 
and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry," 
"Please forgive me," 
"Thank you," 
or, "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes, 
you'll have no regrets about today.


~In Memory of Lost Loved Ones



~~~~~





Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God has laid you see.

I took His hand when I heard His call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way.
I found peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joys,

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
O yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow.
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lift up your hearts, and peace to thee,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

~via In Memory of Lost Loved Ones










Title Picture, via In Memory of Lost Loved Ones

Monday, June 11, 2012

Tuesday's Trust - What's with the Rush to "Recovery"?




Tuesday's Trust
What's with the Rush to "Recovery"?


What's with the rush to recovery? Is there such a thing as "recovery" when you lose a child? Just about every book on grief that's out on the market today has the word "recovery" somewhere in the title. 

Look what's out there in the Christian "market" for us to read on grief… Guide Post? Decision Magazine? Have you noticed there can be a very poignant story of a person's child-loss grief, but it seems about the time you get to the part in their story that really resonates with our pain, there always seems to be a kind of "shutting it down" of sorts with a sudden rush to recovery, (to make God look "good," I guess?) The presence of Jesus, or just invoking Jesus, it seems, is supposed to be a quick, miracle cure. No matter their unique story that starts out in these magazines, it seems their conclusion is always the same. It's almost formulaic. Now that's not the God we know, the God of love who loves each person in His own unique way, carrying out each person's own unique story, that includes the human elements with which we daily struggle. 

You've heard the public's accusations of the court room's "rush to judgment"; what we see too often is the church's monotonous "rush to recovery." You miss the raw angst and agony that Jesus so clearly showed in His own journey through the Vale of Tears. Instead of such authenticity, in the current literature, you just see the "quick fix" that somehow just doesn't ring true, but comes across rather as some kind of quick apologetic for God, as if the laymen in the church cannot handle the laments of life, but must have the "happy snappy" as we call it. 

What is the dictionary's definition of "recovery"? 

A) a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength - as in "He looks all set to make a full recovery."

B) the action or process of gaining possession or control of something stolen or lost - as in "The team of salvage experts will ensure the recovery of family possessions."; 

C) "in recovery"- in the process of recovering from mental illness, drug addiction, or past abuse - as in "There are support groups for parents whose children are in recovery."

So how does child-loss grief fit into that recovery model?

A) We will never return to what you would call a "normal" state of health-mind-or-strength; we now "walk with a limp" because we love our child who is gone from our earthly lives.

B) We will never gain possession or control of our child who was stolen from us by death and lost to us forever this side of eternity.

C) We are not "in recovery." Grief is not a "mental illness"; grief is not a "drug addiction"; grief is not "past abuse." Grief is deep sorrow caused by a loved one's death ~ and that loved one will not be restored to us in this life-time. So forget expecting us to "recover" from it! Our grief is here to stay, that is until the day we die and go to Heaven, but for this LIFETIME, we will be in grief. Yes, we may get a little  stronger with hard work and much nurturance, but we will never "recover" in this lifetime from losing our child, so please, drop that expectation!

We're not "recovering" to" normal." We're actually getting to a view of truth that we didn't have before, developing a more realistic perspective of God, of life, and of death that flies in the face of our former assumptions, and that flies in the face of this culture's need to deny that death even exists. Our former assumptions have all been challenged, and now, you want us to go backwards???? Backwards to the land of naiveté ("lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment")? Sorry, it just doesn't work that way, nor should it. 

We need to learn from our new reality, not try to abolish the truth of that reality. Our "creatureliness" may scare you as it is absolutely humbling, but it leads us to God as we know we must lean on Him to survive, and we know that truth beyond a shadow of a doubt. You want us to deny that truth and go back to ignorance? Ignorance may be bliss for you, but to us it would be downright stupid for us to go backwards and not learn from our heavy, tormented experience that yes, life does end! And when our child's life ended, it concomitantly wreaked havoc in our "life as we once knew it."

Our lives too will end. One day, if left just to natural causes even, our bodies will grow weaker and weaker. To deny that stark reality sets us up for disaster and would prove we learned nothing at all from the harsh reality of our child's death. No, I need to know that I will always need God to make it through, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, second-by-second. Forever.

Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something

Facing child-loss grief's vulnerability on a daily basis yields the opportunity for building our "trust muscles" as we learn to lean on our Eternal "Abba" Father each step of the way through this painful journey! May we resist the "rush to recovery" demands, and instead, learn to "run into our Father's ready embrace" throughout the moments, minutes, hours, days, months, and years ahead amidst our child-loss grief.



Please don't ask me if I'm over it yet. I'll never get over it. 
Please don't tell me she's in a better place. She's not here with me. 
Please don't say she isn't suffering any more. I haven't come to terms of why she had to suffer at all. 
Please don't tell me how you feel  Unless you've lost someone in the same way.
Please don't ask me if I feel better. Bereavement isn't a condition that clears up. 
Please don't tell me she was a good age. What age would you like your loved one to die? 

Please don't tell me God never gives us more than we can bear.
Please just say you're sorry.
Please just say you remember my loved one if you do.
Please mention my loved one's name.

Please be patient with me when I am sad.

Please just let me cry.











Pictures, thanks to "Grieving Mothers," B. J. Karrer