“Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship our spirit finds
Is like to that above.” John Fawcett
One of my favorite moments of the past year is one only I will remember.
I swept my toddling granddaughter up into my arms at a family gathering. I talked fast, to say my heart before she could wiggle down and waddle back to Mommy.
“I held you when you were tiny,” I began.
She smiled and stayed still. She listened. I sensed she understood that I was telling her the beginning of our story–the moment she and I first met and the words I told her then.
“Jesus loves you. Grandma loves you. You have a wonderful mommy and daddy.”
I added that we’d been waiting for her.
It’s a tiny moment I may, if God wills, repeat to her over the years. Something I hope and pray will tie a new string between our hearts each time I say it. A string that is a piece of a cord of love.
This Mothers Day was a time of separation–a time that stretched our cords of connection. Not in the certainty of our connections. Just in the yearning for each other’s presence once more.
We never would have imagined we would suffer this separation.
“Before our Father’s throne,
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one–
Our comforts and our cares.“
Our fears as one is an idea that is more universal in light of the coronavirus crisis. In our separation, we have opportunity to bear one another’s burdens. To strengthen the cords of connection in a unity of distance. We all miss each other.
“When we asunder part
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.“
It’s a Mothers’ Day we will all remember. We hope next year’s will be different, more like others in the past, yet its own. A day of meeting and connecting.
Each meeting makes a thread to strengthen our cords of connection. Every story told, every memory, every moment of interaction build bonds between us.
There can be a strengthened bond in the anticipation of those moments–our desire laying its own fibers of connection.
God bless the ties that bind our hearts in His love.
Separation is difficult; I haven’t spent a mother’s day with my daughter in 8 years. Our estrangement breaks my heart.
God bless you, Candice, and restore your relationship with her. Thanks for sharing.
Our human ties can be so fragile, even in families. I’m blessed now to have strong ties with mine, but it hasn’t always been that way. I’m even more grateful, however, to know that NOTHING separates me from the love God and I share. His love is beyond control or measure.
You’re so right. My family had such a time too. Thanks, Jessica, and God bless!
Thanking God for my Mother and all women who are mentors and encouragers in my life.
Amen, Melissa! Thank you and God bless!
Lovely reminder and I shall whisper something similar to my sweet granddaughter soon! 💕
Blessings on you and your family to welcome a sweet one. Thank you, Melinda. God bless!
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you enjoyed at least virtual time with your family. 🙂 What a special moment to remember and cherish forever!
Some of it was by phone, one in person. A different kind of day, but a good one still. Thanks, Emily. God bless!
Thanks for this special post Sister. This was my second Mothers Day since my Mother passed away last year. I miss her but am happy that she is with the Lord. I was also blessed this year by the way our adult children made my Wife’s Mothers Day special. Even though we live in different States they still made a great effort to show her how much they appreciated her, and that meant the world!! God Bless
Thank you, Stephen. Mothers Day after your mother has passed is so different. So happy your kids know how to bless their mom. God bless!
What a beautiful moment to cherish and I pray she will hold those words in heart too.
Amen, Yvonne. Stories and words of affection lay threads of connection. Thanks and God bless!
Such a sweet reflection and how need your granddaughter can read it one day. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Mary. God bless!
It was definitely a strange Mother’s Day. The separation was not fun, but I’m thankful for the technology we have so we can still connect in some way. 🙂
Technology has made this time so much more bearable. Thanks, Marcie! God bless!
Those “cords of connection” will stretch into eternity my friend? It’s been many years now since mama entered heaven’s glory. I still hear her lessons in my memories. I feel the warmth of her smile in my soul; and I hear the joy in her laughter in my heart. God’s blessings for making the effort to develop that special bond with your grandchild.
Thank you, J.D. The best parts of life are when we lay the cords. God bless!
Nancy, separation has been difficult, but you made it beautiful in your post. Thank you.
Thank you, Jeannie! God bless!
So beautifully written, Nancy! Yes, may next year bring connections of every kind, prayerful, emotional, relational and physical!
Amen and thank you, Melissa. God bless!