My child,
Flesh of my flesh,
Soul of my soul,
Part of my very being;
I had an instant deep and fierce love when I first saw you.
My heart was yours, and I knew I would give my very life to protect you.
And yet, here I sit, with the suffocating pain and darkness of knowing I was unable to protect you from death.
So now I find that just as deep and intense as my love for you, is the deep and intense pain of my grief in living without you. And yet I know that somehow, I must.
How? How God? How do I go on with a piece of my very being gone from this earth?
And as I ask and seek for this help, God in His tender love, compassion and faithfulness reminds me that I don’t have to live without you.
You are forever in my heart and my thoughts, and forever a part of my very being; that our separation is only temporary. You have just moved on to our eternal home before me and have unpacked and settled in, waiting for me and the rest of us to join you.
This isn’t a final good-by. It is an “I’ll see you later.” When I have the thoughts that I would give anything to see you again, to hug you or hear you laugh, I realize that I will! Maybe not as soon as I want to, but it will happen!
And so I will wait. I will wait with hope, expectancy and even excitement to see you again. Every day I am here on this earth means I am one day closer to that desperate need I have as a mother, to love on you.
And while I wait, I will choose to live my life in a way that is full; full of love, full of peace and contentment, full of laughter. And yet I know it will also still be full of pain and longing. For I have now learned that all of these things can live inside of me together.
So on this day of honoring bereaved mothers, let me say I am honored. I am honored and blessed to be your mom, and I imagine and dream of our reunion someday, filled with love and joy that goes beyond words to describe it.
But until then, I will have good days and bad days. I will have days filled with happiness, and days filled with pain. And all of those days I will continue to miss you with every fiber of my being.
If you would like a copy of this, just let us know below.
Expressions of Hope is written by author, speaker and singer Laura Diehl. She and her husband, Dave, are the founders of Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope). Dave and Laura travel full time in their Hope Mobile (a 38-foot motor home) to be more easily available for speaking and ministry requests, including being invited to hold one-day GPS Hope & Healing conferences.
If you would like more information about Laura as a speaker for your next event or want more information on hosting a GPS Hope & Healing conference, click here.
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Wanda Stepp (Turkey's mom) says
This letter is beautiful
Laura Diehl says
Thank you, Wanda.
Debbie says
Thank you for writing such meaningful words that hit home and are so true. God bless you!
Laura Diehl says
Thank you, Debbie. Sorry you are on this same path…
Donna Ames says
Thank you so much for those kind words of wisdom and encouragement. I have to remember that I will see him again, that is what gets me through the day.
Laura Diehl says
Love you, Donna. I know you have a tough day coming up. Hugs and prayers.
Jill DeVries says
Laura, this poem is so beautiful. It filled me with so much hope and actually put a smile on my face. I am filled with excitement at the thought of seeing my son again soon. I sometimes feel guilty knowing that i will be with him sooner than i think, so i need to spend more time with my other two children. while i can. You were able to express your feelings and the feelings of bereaved parents so beautifully. Thank you..
Laura Diehl says
Thank you Jill. I am so glad it blessed you!
Karen Kelly says
This is so beautifully written. I really needed to hear this. It will be 5 years this month that I lost my son. I miss him just as mych today as I did then. God bless you Laura and Dave!!
Laura Diehl says
Hi Karen, I remember hitting that five year mark. I remember that first year thinking I could never make it that far, but here we both are. Hugs and prayers.