Saturday, December 27, 2008

I had a nightmare last night

Well, to be honest, it was most likely this morning. Hard to tell what time it was due to how dark our mornings are lately. But that isn't important. It was a horrible nightmare involving my son, Max.

Max, who is four years old, is my only son. He is also my baby and I let him know that all the time. In my nightmare, he is an infant again. I am at the hospital with him. He is suffering from some sort of incurable infliction. The doctors have given him medicine to stop the pain and I am holding him trying so hard to maintain my gaze. I believe that if I don't look away he can't slip away into death. I have tears rolling down my face as I softly talk to him. I am pleading for God to save him. But the doctors tell me death is inevitable. I am pained beyond belief. I don't want to let him go. I can't accept he has to die.

And I wake up scared and shaken. I try to piece reality to together. I pray that it was just a bad dream. And then I hear him talking with my husband in the kitchen. He is sharing some wonderful thoughts he had and what type of cereal he'd like to eat. Thank you God.

I believe I know why I had this nightmare. I've been thinking a lot about Kevin the past week. Kevin is a 15 year old boy who died last month. He was the younger brother of teenage daughter's friend. The death was a bizarre accident at home. Purely an accident, but such a total tragedy. I attended the funeral with my daughter and listened to his friends, family and finally his mother speak. I didn't know Kevin or his parents, but when his mom spoke I felt like I was there with them when they found Kevin's body. I felt the pain of this being the last time she tucks in him at night. I teared up and tried hard to escape the grief but it consumed me.

Now, after my nightmare, I understand how difficult it would be to pick up and go on after losing your baby. I hope to never have to experience it, but if God decides to take one of my children home to Heaven before me then I hope to face that grief with as much grace as Kevin's mom.

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