My life is upside down, loving God.  The order of the world is out of place and I can’t do anything to right it again.  Oh, Lord, you know the pain in my heart at all times and you know why: my child has died.  How can it be that my beloved child is gone?  The child I cared for with such concern in every illness, the one I held close to my heart and promised to take care of for a lifetime, is not here for me to care for anymore. It hurts deeply that I wasn’t able to protect this child I love with my whole being from a death that seems so unfair.

Let me feel calm.  Let me breathe deeply.  Be with me in this kind of deep and transformative pain.  I now carry this darkness with me on my back and in my heart, always.  It is my burden and my companion.

Lord, there is not a single minute of my life when this loss is not etched so keenly into my brain and heart, whether it is in the middle of a busy day or in those choking moments of grief in the solitary dark of night.  Let me be grateful for every minute we had together. Let me treasure those memories and find joy in them.

Help me to deal with people better.  They don’t know what to say. They stumble and look away when they see me.  They pretend nothing has happened.   I know they “don’t want to remind me” but they don’t understand it is with me always, always.

Teach me, Lord. Tell me what you want me to do with this.  What am I supposed to learn from this kind of pain?  What are you calling me to do?

Open my battered heart and lead me to comfort and peace.  Only you can give me the peace I need. Let me feel your presence in my life.