Saturday, May 8, 2010

I Am Still My Mother's Daughter

I Am Still
My Mother’s Daughter

**By Janet Lyn**
Copyright © May 12, 2007.


I am my mother’s daughter

For nine months, she carried me;

For five years, seven months and one day

She loved me and nurtured me,

And then she was gone.

But I am still my mother’s daughter.

***

I have tried and tried

To remember

But I still can’t remember her voice.

I have tried and tried

To remember

But I still can’t remember her smile.

My memories are a handful

Of aging photos in a book;

It’s the only way

I can remember how she looked.

***

I am almost twice as old

As she was on her last day here.

I have walked a road she never walked,

Her road ended much too soon;

Her path was not so clear.

***

Yet I am still my mother’s daughter

And I hear her when I sing.

An angel with a tear-stained wing.

For I am still my mother’s daughter.

*******************

***Dedicated With Much Love***
to my Mom Barbara
~Thank You for all your love~


***Author's Note***
I was very blessed to have a Mom who loved me deeply and sang with me and took really good care of me and was proud of me, even though it was only for a short while. I know that mostly because of all my Mom wrote in my Baby Book and what relatives have told me and what I remember of life as a cherished little girl when my Mom was still alive.

My Mom Barbara and my first younger brother Craig, who was 2 years+2 months old, died in a senseless car wreck when I was 5 years, 7 months and 1 day old. I was also in the car and sustained injuries.

Growing up without a Mom and living life without a Mom was certainly not my choice. I miss her. But my loving, merciful, compassionate God has turned that severe tragedy and profound loss in my life into a profound and lifelong compassion in my heart for children in need and a deep understanding and empathy for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

I was 6 years old my first Mother's Day without a Mom. So Mother's Day used to always be one of the most difficult days of the year for me. But now I see it as an opportunity to share God's love and hope with others and to look beyond my own life to find ways to help others, especially children in difficult family circumstances.

This year for Mother's Day, I am blessed to be invited to share a reading of my poem "I Am Still My Mother's Daughter" and play guitar and sing another original song "I Was Made To Worship You" at two different churches on Sunday morning. It will be a new experience for me on Mother's Day. I am hoping and praying that it will encourage and bless other men, women and children, knowing how God's love can sustain us and redeem our lives.

Some of you are blessed to still have your Mothers in your lives this Mother's Day. Some of you are doubly blessed to be Moms. Some of you are like me and have the great joy and privilege of loving and blessing other people's children. Some of you will be missing your own Moms this Mother's Day.

Whatever your situation, you are not alone.
 When we share our stories,
we share the joys and sorrows of this life
and we help each other survive.
 We live the power of love.

~Me and My Mom Barbara~
~Safe In The Arms of Love~
**Happy Mother's Day**
~Love, jl~

1 comment:

Jephy's Mom said...

Oh Janet Lyn my heart aches for you. What a beautiful poem. Your mom would be so proud. You were both robbed of so much.

May God continue to watch over you and bless you.