10690a

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” Isaiah 49:15–18

It is 6 years, and Christopher’s face flashes like brilliant snapshots through the years: the fragile tiny 5 lb.10 oz. infant swaddled in my arms . . . the 2-year-old golden-haired toddler, with those huge hazel eyes, sick with fever and viral pneumonia in an oxygen tent . . . that little boy, curious about everything around him . . . the 5th grader in his tracksuit running cross country, quick as the wind . . . bright, funny, always laughing, headed out on his bike on some surfing adventure with good friends.

There he is, a young adult passionate about art, falling in love, getting his heart broken badly, only to love again—this time deeply and forever . . . and the father who adored his growing family and couldn’t stop taking pictures of his beautiful little girl.

I can still hear his laugh, his voice.

How can a mother forget her child? The memories of 33 precious years flood my mind because they are the fabric, the woof and warp, of my life. His absence hurts deeply, at times unexpectedly, as years pass and I see traces of his face in his two daughters—so beautiful, brilliant, artistic, brimming with the same humor and energy.

So I turn again to the Scripture and read, “Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” God is telling me, though it may be unimaginable that a mother would forget her child, He doesn’t forget . . . ever. Christopher and I are both inscribed, engraved on the palms of His hands, always in His sight and kept in His everlasting care.

The wounds in Christ’s hands when He was crucified is enough of a reminder to me that God knows and understands my sorrow, and most importantly, He too will cherish and protect those for whom He suffered and died. His love and remembrance of Christopher every day, and especially today, is as close to God as He is to Himself.