Mother of the Bride/For ReBecka

My gaze caressed cherubic pink cheeks,
As you nursed upon my breast. 
Long eyelashes closed in feathery smiles:
Your breakfast was becoming your rest.

My heart swelled with pride and with pain.
My mind slipped off into the distant future.
Where would your wee steps take you? 
To whom would you promise your forever? 

A mother's heart throbs with love,
But it also beats in quiet loneliness. 
For we know how short a time, 
You will be here, in our daily lives, to bless.

An infant, mere months. 
A child, a very few years.
A teen only a moment and,
Like that, adulthood is here. 

What an honor to have raised you:
My parental satisfaction is complete. 
What a pleasure to watch you take on the world:
A gratification that is oh, so bittersweet.

One day, it happened almost unexpectedly:
A young man had swept you off your feet. 
This felt different in my soul and yours: 
I was eager, your young man, to meet.

He stepped into our home one Sunday,
And just as swiftly, he tapped upon my heart.
We could tell that he was someone rare:
We know he was special from the very start. 

We continue to watch your burgeoning romance,
And frequently offer our encouragement and praise.
All the while, as we have always lifted you,
Him too, our hearts in prayer now raise. 

"Lord, make him kind and good to her.
Let him treat her gently in every way.
Help him to be wise, true, and diligent.
Cause him to grow in You, we pray." 

The more we got to know this man,
The more we liked him, and then...
The feeling I had when I gave birth to you,
Suddenly showed up one day - for him.

My heart swelled, stuttered, and gave a tight squeeze.
Tears sprang immediately to my eyes.
He was no longer just a young man, but my son.
I have become a heart-mother of this guy!

"Lord, thank you for your promise kept:
That you would keep my daughter safe and sound.
Thank you for bringing us our son:
Bless them and allow good fortune to abound. 

As I move into the season where my gaze,
Now rests not on a babe, but a bride,
I beg you to knit them together as one:
Let their trust in You securely abide. 

I have witnessed your hand on her life,
From the day she first came onto this earth.
I have witnessed her sorrows, struggles, and pain.
I have witnessed her growth, her faith, her mirth. 

As they unite their hearts more every day,
And now as they set up a joint life, 
I beg you, protect them from harm, of course,
And help her as she becomes a wife. 

Bless her with patience and an open heart:
Bless double the same for him. 
Help them to be both leader and help-meet,
As their lives interweave and blend. 

Give him strength that is gentle but firm. 
Give her as much of the same. 
Fill their home with love and laughter. 
Speak goodness over them by name. 

Make the way easy, though imperfect. 
When they slip, help them not to fall. 
Let them cling to one another for everything:
Help them to look to You most of all."

The prayers I prayed over my developing babe,
When she grew quietly, steadily within my womb,
Are all now coming to fruition more each day:
As the flower of her life continues to bloom.

"Mother of the bride" is what they'll call me, 
And the phrase conjures visions of dresses and cake. 
But for me, it brings up prayers and reminiscences: 
I know their entire future is at stake.  

I have one eye on the blonde babe I suckled,
And another on her own upcoming family.
The precious infant who almost didn't survive,
Is a bride with a future full of possibilities. 

I am so proud of my daughter, my new son!
I am so eager for the day they finally wed.
May God be gracious every breath, every moment. 
As He guides and protects their path ahead. 

Mother of the bride is a quieter role,
This is the time of life when I slip out of sight.
But I carry in my heart memories she will never recall,
And I still pray for her day and night.

As I step back into this watchful invisibility,
And my heart settles into a lonely but sacred place,
I cling harder to my husband and our Lord,
And entreat him silently for his grace.

There are such deep emotions here:
Swelling inside my chest, fit to burst.
But gratitude for the miracle God granted us,
Is the strongest and is always the first. 

I love you, my angel,

~Mom <3