Dear mom or dad,

I too was a young mom who saw how my beloved child was abused by this world. He was so perfect. He grew in grace and when I tell you He was perfect, He truly was. I remember his little laugh as a baby. Do you remember your child’s laugh? How the silliest things would just have them start laughing and it was infectious because you couldn’t help but laugh too. When your little one is growing, they don’t realize that you are growing as a parent too. So many times, I questioned myself and wondered am I doing this right. How many times did you pray that this little one entrusted to you would be ok? Every night I prayed that He would be ok, that I would be ok, that the world around us would be gentle to this beautiful gift I was presenting it with. When your little one isn’t little anymore and they leave home, you try to be strong for them while you are breaking on the inside. I know what you are feeling, or if you aren’t there yet, I know you dread the day.

One day He left home, and the boy I prepared for the world, would change the world. You feel that sometimes too. You see your child and wonder how is this one going to change the world?  You pray each day that the promise that God spoke over them will come to fruition. You also pray that the cruelty of the world doesn’t change your child. I know. I was there when they beat Him, when the beautiful face I kissed each night became a distorted mask I didn’t recognize. The world can do that to our kids. His was a physical distortion, sometimes the distortion the world applies to our children is interior and we ask- who is this?

You are not alone. I too stood by and watched helplessly. The world returned His lifeless body to me bloodied and abused. They hurled lies at Him and treated so cruelly that beautiful child I shared with them. You are not alone when you watch your little one suffer and you wish you could take their place. You are not alone when you can’t see through the tears in your eyes, and you sit back and question every decision you ever made. I too wondered if this price was too high for Him to pay, and if anyone would ever appreciate all of it.

You are not alone when you pray and entrust it all to God. When you want to hold on tight but let go and know that “in all things God works for the good.”  You are not alone when you speak blessings over your child as the world speaks condemnation. Do not give up hope. I watched at the cross, and knew God had a plan. While I may not have understood it fully, I knew that in the end, God would through this sacrifice bring salvation. I repeat, DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE. Entrust your child to God, know that your child is God’s child and that He loves him more than you do. Some of us get to see the results in this lifetime, some of us like me in the next. But know with every fiber of your being that your prayers are not going unanswered. That you do not fight alone and that I too am a mother that understands and is with you.