Thank you, Sandy Martin, for this beautiful Mother’s Day testimonial!

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My husband and I have been blessed with three daughters. They are all married and have blessed us with 8 beautiful grandchildren on this earth and 5 already ahead of us in heaven. Years back, our middle daughter, Lauren, was in a season of great loss. She was grieving the loss of yet, another child that she would never get to hold. My daughter had graduated to sacred ground that I have never stepped onto. I was at a complete loss. There were the “why’s”, medical questions, and questions about where God was, in all of this. I had no reference point on how I could help or bring comfort in this time of intense pain that I had never experienced. It brought feelings of not being enough as a mom. And yet, as the saying goes, “this is not about me”.

It was one year after the passing of baby Emerson…. Since I am a realtor, I asked Lauren to make 2 wreaths for me that I wanted to use in staging a home. After I had used the items, I cleaned out the trunk of my car and for whatever reason, I left one wreath in my car. Every time I put something in the trunk, I remember thinking, “I need to put that away.”

One evening I invited my daughter to go to New Holland coffee and on the way home she asked if I had time to stop by Emerson’s grave. As I drove my car into the cemetery, Lauren pointed out the sign that said, “No Trespassing After Dark.” I remember saying, “Well, they can always ask us to leave…” and we continued on. We gathered around the small tombstone using our cell phone flashlights. And we cried together again. Once again, I had no reference point to bring comfort to my daughter’s pain. I remember saying to her, ” You know Lauren, this is not the way it was supposed to be. Our hearts were created for heaven, where our loved ones are with us forever.” It was not God’s desire for us to experience this great loss.

She was quiet for some time and then she said, I wish I had brought something to put on Emerson’s grave. I said, I think we have something! I went to the trunk of the car and brought out the beautiful wreath she had made. The one I had been carrying with me for no reason I could explain. Now I knew! We placed the wreath on the tiny tombstone and more healing took place.

Years later my daughter shared with me the light my words brought to her that night as we stood in the dark at Emerson’s grave. It brought her understanding and peace to know that the God of her heart did not desire death or tragedy. However, He did provide redemption for it. This redemption creates a better day, a perfect way, that one day, but not yet, we will no longer experience intense sadness and loss. A great reunion is coming!

Hope is not lost!

Your gravesite may be the death of a dream, the death of a relationship, a tragic life experience, a personal failure. On Mothers’ Day I would like to give all the Mom’s a shout out that courageously stand by those that need healing, hope, and inspiration even when it is beyond their own personal experience. Our God picks up the slack when we have nothing tangible to offer. If you need a Mom to stand with you in the dark, it may be your birth Mom or it may be the woman who sits close to you at church or the one that shared transparently in your Bible study or that woman that offers you a word of encouragement. You don’t need to stand alone in the dark. God raises up Moms everywhere. So ask God to show you a Mom who will walk with you and stand with you, holding up the light on a dark night.

Sometimes we are called to hold the light of Jesus up high so that someone else can see. And sometimes we need to ask someone to hold up the light for us because the darkness is pressing in from every side.

Matthew 5:14-16. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

~Sandy