Originally posted 2019-06-03 19:40:25.
Hi!
Five years ago, the morning of June 3, 2014, I woke up with fleeting hope. My son-in-law had dropped my 3 year old grandson off, and went to work. That was our new routine.
I took my grandson to pre-school and drove to Providence Park Hospital to see my daughter, Tamika. As I walked the long corridor to the elevators to the ICU, I prayed for my daughter. This was on a Tuesday morning.
My daughter had been in the hospital since early May, and was breathing through the many machines attached to her body. The numbers on the monitors were slowly decreasing. But, I yet believed God could raise her up. She died later that evening from complications of Sickle Cell Anemia’s attack on her liver.
Oh Mika!! I did not see then how God was yet working.
The last time I had seen Mika conscience was on the Friday evening, four days prior to her death. I will never forget those last three faint words Mika struggled to say, as blood filled her mouth. “Mama keep praying,” she softly instructed. Yes instructed. Mika was bossy in life, and on her death bed. Yet, I believe her insistence on me praying was also her plea for the Lord to take her with Him.
I had asked Mika to repeat the prayer in Matthew 6:9-13; as I prayed. Me: “Our Father!” Mika’s whisper: “Our Father!” Me: “Who art in Heaven.” Mika’s whisper: “Who art In Heaven.” Etc., etc.
The nurse came into the room while we were praying. I stopped to tell the nurse to clean the blood out of Mika’s mouth. Then my precious baby weakly, yet urgently uttered those words that often come into my spirit when I cry from missing her, or when I deal with life’s troubles. “MAMA KEEP PRAYING!”
My friends, you may be thinking, “Why is she revisiting such a painful experience? How will she ever get over it?” I hear you. Yet, on this day of feeling the gnawing void in my heart, “MAMA KEEP PRAYING,” rings loudly! Joy from remembering my 33 year old baby girl wanting to pray, and wanting me to keep praying, is in my heart, fighting the pain.
Some how, the thought of my daughter having prayer on her mind, while traveling on the roadway to eternity, soothes my heart. I miss her today as if it were 2014. The only difference is, tears are not flowing today like they did then. My tears are sporadically trickling; but, not pouring. “Mama keep praying,” is on repeat in my spirit.
Wow!! An old gospel song sung by Mahalia Jackson, popped in my heart today.
“How I got over! HOW I made it over! You know my soul looks back and wonders, how I made it over. ….But as soon as I see Jesus! Oh yes! The man that died for me! Oh yes! Oh yes! The man that bled and suffered, and He hung on Calvary! And I want to thank Him for how He brought me! I want to thank God for how he taught me! OH, I thank my God for how He kept me! I’m gonna thank Him cause He never left me! ….”
The question yet remains: “Will A Mother Ever Overcome Pain of Losing Her Only Daughter?”
“Yes” or “No,” is contingent upon you. Let’s deal with the questions and additional thoughts sparked by this topic. First, is it really a loss? Though it feels like one, I really do not think it is a loss.
When you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, you are living to live again. When you believe God’s Word, and you try your best to live by God’s Word; you look to eternity with God, as your final destination. Do you agree?
Well then, when your daughter, son, spouse or loved one lived for Jesus, don’t you believe they will spend eternity with Jesus? When something or someone is lost, you do not know where the thing or person is. That is why search teams are sent out in certain situations. That is not the case when your loved one who loves Jesus dies. Through faith, they have actually gotten a chance to go to the place where you look to go. Heaven!!
This thought process helps a God-fearing mother live with her daughter’s death. It does not remove the sense of loss, the void, the missed conversations, or close friendship with her daughter. It does not prevent the sting from hearing about mother and daughter events. Nor does it take away the punch from listening to a mother speak on her daughter or daughters, and their activities.
Don’t get me wrong. It is not jealousy. Many of us mothers whose daughters are no longer with us, enjoy hearing mothers speak of their daughters. Yet the enemy will attack our minds. The enemy will taunt us about our daughters being gone. But, my friends, you, me and any mothers whose precious daughters are gone, have to fight for peace. How?
Read the Word of God; especially the Psalms. Hide the Word in your heart. Pray. Believe and declare scripture over your life. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3 KJV.
Praise God! Sing a song like, “How I Got Over,” or “Amazing Grace!” Trust God, no matter what, and accept what God has allowed. Go into your photo album, look at old pictures, and enjoy the memories. Determine in your mind to enjoy today, and plan for tomorrow. Live! Live now, to live again.
That helps you to overcome the pain from your loved one leaving. You may miss your loved one the rest of your life. Yet, my friends, you do not have to allow grief to keep you in perpetual pain. Rejoice in the Lord! Today, and everyday!
There is absolutely nothing too hard for God. He is a restorer, a healer, a way maker, a joy infuser. Allow God to shower you with and immerse you in the joy of the Lord. Giving your all to God helps you answer this post’s question with an emphatic, “Yes!”
Thank you for joining me today. I will close with this scripture: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Psalms 34:1-3 KJV. We will talk soon.
Blessings!
Rochelle
