by Theresa Newell
I held your hand when you were born.
I loved you.
I wept for all the troubles you will have in your life.
You were so beautiful, worthy, and deserving.
I held your hand when I took you to kindergarten.
I loved you.
You were growing, bravely facing a brand-new world.
You were so beautiful, worthy, and deserving.
I hugged you close when you went off to college.
I loved you.
You were anxious to chart your path and become yourself.
You were so beautiful, worthy, and deserving.
Will you hug me close when we say our final good-bye?
I love you still.
You will go on, creating more love.
You are so beautiful, worthy, and deserving.
We have only now to touch one another.
To love one another.
In this moment let us reach out in love.
We are so beautiful, worthy, and deserving.
Theresa Newell is a hospital chaplain, a postulant for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Olympia, a wife, and a mother to mostly grown foster, adopted and biological children. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, the youngest of her children, and her Great Dane.
