Help me my son to bear bravely the burden of bereavement which weighs upon my heart.

May the grief over your death not suffocate the gratitude I owe for the years of life we shared together.

We have been created with a wisdom which we can only partially understand. If it is the law of nature that the brightness of day is followed by the darkness of night and the joy of love by the sorrow of parting, teach me to accept my sorrow as the spiritual coin with which I pay for the blessings of loving you.

Help me to understand too, that just as the night blots out the mid-day sun, so does your death make way for your everlasting soul.

Stay close to me even though you walk in the valley of the shadow of death. Keep aglow my candle of hope until I shall reach you in the open meadows of sunshine and healing that lie beyond my grasp.

Amen.

In loving memory of my son Eric
on his fifth birthday, June 17, 2001.

Joan Adler