Ruth 1:16-17 NIV “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

Poem

Never someone else's child,
Born to be your girl.
Never a visitor in your home,
But a shelter built around me,
To protect me from the world.

A voice that calmed fears.
My safe escape.
Love that dried tears.
A joyful heart.
Faith assured.
Wisdom imparted.

Little girl once half complete,
Made whole by God's all-knowing grace.
Now, trying to imagine a long life,
Without your smiling face.

There is hope in God, my father,
Where despair overwhelms flesh.

There is strength because I am yours,
Though my resolve has been put to the test.

There are days when I am sure I'll survive to make you proud.
And days my tomorrow is clouded by doubt.
And I'm angry, desperate, and consumed by pain,
....then the sun comes out, and the hurt fades.
You're still gone, but so is the rain.

Little girl, you took to your soul with all your being.
Must be something worthy, at times I have trouble seeing.

It's bittersweet to have someone both complete you and leave you broken.
To long for an existence of substance,
At the same time wishing for God to close the final curtain.

Unsure of what my story holds,
Just knowing we're all on earth as a loan,
Loving strong, biding our time, and leaving our mark, until God brings us home.

I would never give up the time we had,
Even if what lies ahead gets harder.
For this little girl was blessed more than I ever deserved,
.....The first time you called me daughter.

By: Jessica Lennon