When We Miss Our Children

I recently visited a woman of ninety-five. She wept because she missed her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Three of her four sons have passed away, so she is not unacquainted with grief. She’s a woman of courage and determination, but loneliness often overwhelms her. No doubt, she is loved and valued by loved ones, but in her mind, she is not. To her, she is forgotten and abandoned by those she poured her love and strength into.

According to 99Firms, eighteen billion text messages are sent every day. If only one of them could be sent to a mother or grandmother, what a difference that simple communication would make to her troubled mind and broken heart. To reassure an aged parent or grandparent that they are still loved and not forgotten takes less than thirty seconds.

Preparing for an upcoming Mother’s Day event, I read again the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel, Chapter one. Hannah grieved for the child she wanted. She went to the temple to pray that God would give her a child. Verse 10 reads, And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

That sums up how I feel when I miss my children and grandchildren. That’s why I’m so blessed and grateful when a grandchild texts or stops in to visit. One grandchild lives in another state and the videos his dad sends are the only means of watching him grow. I cannot place a value on this.  

So many women are missing their children. Like Hannah, some grieve over empty arms. Some mothers have had to surrender their child to death. These women force themselves to keep breathing, to keep moving, to get through the day. And like my friend, many are elderly. Some lie in nursing homes and stare at family snapshots pinned to their personal bulletin board.

Our circumstances are varied, but the universal issue is mothers often miss their children. So, what can we do when the weight of sadness drops heavily on our chests? Like Hannah, we pray and weep. Then, like Hannah, we go on our way rejoicing in the promises of God. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We need never feel abandoned.

And we reach out to those we love. They are busy. Their lives are full—at least, we hope this is the case—and it is their turn to build a life. Yet, they too need the reminder that they are loved and valued. Do not surrender to a woe-is-me mentality. If we are breathing, we are to keep reaching out to others. There is always someone who needs the reminder that we care.

Even a ninety-five-year-old grandmother can send a text message. It may take her more than thirty seconds, but she can do it and so can we.