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Friday, July 27, 2018

When you can't save someone you love from the pain



Did you know that all moms have a superpower?

It's called, "Let-me-kiss-it-and-make-it-all-better!"

It's also known as "I-would-step-in-front-of-a-speeding-train-to-save-you!"

Moms care. Deeply. Passionately. Too much at times.

From the moment we are aware of the life within us, we don our Supermom capes and with the wind blowing them out behind us, we take our stand firmly on the Mountain of Love, vowing to do whatever is necessary to protect this wee one entrusted to us against any pain or sadness.

And Lord knows we have to! I've never met a child yet who entered the world fully capable of taking care of themselves physically or mentally! As much as their crying and clinging and needs can drive us crazy, they also empower us with a feeling that we are Needed. Necessary. Able with a single leap to put that smile back on a child's hurting face.

So for 18 some odd years that super power grows. And it feels good. And it works!

Then the day comes when your child is no longer a child, but an adult....who's now busy guarding and caring for his own family. And his wife has her own Supermom cape, and ours has been relegated to mothballs. As it should be.

Until the day suffering comes crashing in...throwing loved ones left and right and leaving a wake of brokenness and tears in its wake.

And it happens to YOUR BABY!

And not just YOUR BABY, but YOUR BABY'S BABIES!

"How dare you?" we cry as we run to the closet, frantically searching for our discarded cape, mothballs rolling across the floor.

"Show me the Monster that dare hurt my child! I shall slay it with a thousand swords!"

And God knows we mean it with all of our heart...a heart that still lives and beats for the good of our child.

But the years have humbled us...we have lived too long and seen too much. Suffering and loss and shattered dreams have become a fact of life. And band aids and kisses will never fix the pain again.

What do you do at a time like this?

What do I do at a time like this?

I get angry. And I get angry. And angry yet again.

Angry that sin ever entered the world...that it stole what was once perfect and whole and good. And replaced it with pain and suffering and death.

We all have a longing in us for the way it was meant to be. And I think Moms especially operate under this power. It's what gives us the vision and strength to do and be all that is best for our children and family.

Until the day comes that we can't.


This week our son and his family witnessed the tragic death of a dearly beloved pet, Midnight. It devastated not only him and his wife, but their two children who were crazy in love with this dog.

And this news brought back all the faces of long-gone-dearly-loved pets that we have lost over the last 40 years. I felt the hole in my heart open up again. I knew only too well what they were feeling and I wept for their loss.

Not just for the loss of their dog, but for the loss of a future, and joy, and innocence.

And there was nothing I could do about it. There was no band aid big enough...no kiss or superpower strong enough...to make it right again.

I had to stand back and let them learn the lessons we are all forced to learn...

That loss is inevitable....that broken hearts are the norm for this world...and that as much as we try to control and make things good for those we love, ultimately we cannot. We are at the mercy of a sin-filled, fallen world.

And we will spend a lifetime in it.

But God.

Who loved us so much that He gave His own life to show us the Way Home.

To a Home where it IS the way it's supposed to be....where there is no more death and loss and suffering.

God knew what was coming so He gave us the gift of Hope. A hope that holds us close and whispers that no matter what happens here...no matter how hard life gets....this is not all there is.

And for that I owe him not only my thanks, but my life.

Yesterday I spent a couple hours with the kids...we picked out something special at the store and made sundaes way too big for any child at Sweet Frog.

And we talked.

And with the innocence and trust of childhood, they laughed as they thought of their beloved Midnight in Heaven...running through the flower fields, as fast as she can, with no speeding cars in sight.

And our smiles were huge as we each pictured how our dog, Venga, who had died a couple years ago, was also in Heaven...probably waiting for Midnight...her body swinging to and fro to a rapidly beating tail.

And...rolling joy and laughter...someday, their tails will wag for us also!

Because that's what dogs do. They love. Forever.

So today, as we prepare to leave for a very long anticipated vacation, I commit my son and his family to the tender heart and mercy of God.

So much can happen in 2 weeks before we see them again.

But God is always on the throne...redeeming and working together for good all we encounter in this fallen world.

Giving us a hope and a future.

When a mother takes off her cape, moving from one season of life into another, she picks up the mantle of prayer for her family.

It's always available and it travels well.

Wrapped in hope, I give it now...

From me to God to you. You are loved.




























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