I read a beautiful quote last night from a mother who lost her daughter when her daughter was less than a year old. It is one of the most beautiful quotes I have ever read. It is from a free devotional the mother wrote for grieving families entitled "Psalms for the Grieving Heart". You can find the quote at her website, like I did: www.raisingarrows.net/the-grieving-mother
"I would not move forward if it meant leaving Emmy behind. I don't know how anyone can pretend a child never existed, take down their pictures, remove their things... No, I do not leave her behind and 'move on', I move forward, with all 5 children--- one running a bit ahead... just out of sight."
Wow. What a beautiful way to explain something that is so important to explain.
We will never leave Ethan behind. He exists, he is real, he is our child--- and he waits for us. We move forward with all three children--- one running a bit ahead... just out of sight. And in fact, we have six children, and four of them are running a bit ahead... just out of sight!
We love talking about our son. And there are so many people who let us know they love hearing about him, which makes our hearts overflow. But sometimes, we can sense that people are "tired" of hearing about Ethan. Less than four months after he passed away, someone wrote us a letter telling us we needed to "move on".
Here's the thing. There is no moving on. Like the quote above says, there is only moving forward with Ethan. I talk about my girls on Facebook--- a lot. I talk about my son on Facebook--- a lot. He is my child just like they are. He doesn't live with me right now, but one day he will.
You see, this life on Earth is just a vapor--- just a fleeting moment. Ethan is the one who is really alive! He is the one who has already started his eternal life. When you really think about it, I am more dead than he is!
So why would we not talk about him? He is alive and well. Perfect, in fact. We are just temporarily separated from him. Like my husband always says, if Ethan was grown and living in another state, we wouldn't pretend he doesn't exist just because he's not living in our house anymore.
It all goes back to our view of Eternal Life. Do we believe in it? Then we ought to live like it.
Thank you, God, for the gift of Your Son. Thank you, God, that you will reunite me with my son for Eternity. I love you.
