Holding

I hold my children close sometimes
And soothe away their tears.

Sometimes I hold with exuberance
The joyful smiles and cheers.

I held each one at birth’s glad hour
Long hours and months of waiting through
Looked in the joyfully awaited face,
Thinking, “Look, Oh, look, it’s you.”
Sometimes I hold their suppers warm
When things don’t go as planned.

Or hold my eyes open when it’s late
And, anytime, hold their hands.

But, it won’t always be like this;
Someday I’ll taste the cup,
To know the time for holding’s gone,
And it’s time to give them up.

Though each one walk out the door,
Pursuing life’s beckoning call,
And I can’t hold their hands each day
Or keep them in our walls,
I’ll know that they are in good hands
When their faces I can’t see.

You, Lord, who’ve held me all along
Will hold each one for me.