Parent regrets

I read of younger mothers
struggling to spend time with God
as they speak life into their children's lives.

I think of this older mother
struggling to remember those sweet days
when she sought for life to fill her emptiness.

I long to be a mother again
no longer struggling to be that parent
who would love her children more than herself.

Yet:

That life was filled
with longing - and laughter.
with searching - and finding joy.
with trying - sometimes succeeding.
with faithfulness - always, always, keeping on.

To be a parent
is
by definition
to be imperfect.

I am...

I am Compassion.

I know...
...why children weep, alone, at night;
...where God keeps his  tears.
...what colour love is,
...how the lost feel.

I know...
...who longs for friendship,
...why the lonely languish.
...where the saved are found;
...what happens to sadness.

I have been...
...a loving caress
...the taste of sunshine,
...a whisper in a baby's ear.
...a forgotten smile.

I have been...
...to a pit of despair,
...to lonely graves,
...among the sick.
...I have been to Heartache's End.

I have been lost
I have been found
I have been SADNESS
I have been Joy.

I am Compassion.