Good evening. Mary Jane asked me to say some final thoughts tonight.
I know that some of us here tonight are newly bereaved. Some of us have been on this journey for a while now. Yet, all of us agonize over the physical loss of our precious ones.
We valiantly try to find ways to honor our children. Now that our ultimate fear has sadly already occurred, our newest fear is that our Heavenly Child will be left out or forgotten by others around us.
It is true that unless someone travels on this grief journey, they cannot fully realize that we include our children in every new breath that we take.
However, I think that even we tend to overlook the seemingly insignificant tasks that beautifully honor our children every day.
- Simply getting out of bed each morning,
- Functioning at work,
- Going through the rituals of daily life, and finally,
- Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable again by still actively loving those still with us.
All these actions honor our beloved child.
By doing these things, we continue to nurture the very people our angels loved the most, especially ourselves.
I know that you came here tonight with heavy hearts and tired minds But, forgive yourselves for being weary. I have found, over the years, that when we are at our most weary, we are at our strongest.
Our quiet exhaustion proves to us that we are still valiantly traveling through this journey, and we are finding new strengths along the way.
Look around you and see the wisdom, beauty and strength among us. We have been blessed to know the pure love from our children. It is our honor to be their parents, family, and friends.
Finally, feel the peace in this moment and know that our precious ones are around us. In fact, they are part of us, and they will forever be in our lives.
I wish each of you moments of grace and peace this Holiday Season.