Positive Parenting: You Are Not Alone

Sitting at my desk last week, I decided to peruse the pages of Facebook just to pass the time. What I saw, after sifting through the spam, was too much for me to handle; one of my former classmates had lost her child.

So, this week’s Positive Parenting column is much more personal, and it's dedicated to all of those parents who have had a child pass away.

At the moment when she first knows there's life inside of her, just about every mother-to-be says a little prayer of gratitude and salvation, and sends that special prayer for her child to have a long and healthy life up to the heavens. But when God has other plans, sometimes he takes his youngest warriors a little early.

It's the most devastating thing a parent could ever endure, and yet so many have managed to survive, hoping, knowing that one day they will see their child again.

There are those out there who struggle through the pain alone.  With the influx of social networks, support groups are but a keystroke away. You no longer have to walk the walk alone, cry in the dark, or suffer in silence. 

There is no tangible way to understand why this happens. Maybe it’s because we as humans are still trying to understand what death means while always struggling to figure out the meaning of life.

One thing is for sure: People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime, and while we hope our children are with us throughout our lifetime, sometimes it just doesn’t happen that way.

I challenge all of you positive parents out there to be grateful for your greatest blessing: your kids. I also challenge you to be there—be that rock for a parent who is suffering the loss of the love of their lives.

Open your heart, and hold out your hand. Let them share in the joy you experience each day—when you rise and see your kid’s smile, or hear his laughter, or even when you hold your child extra tight. Those little things you might take for granted are what some parents long to have and can only see when they close their eyes and get lost in a memory. 

If there is someone out there you know who may be suffering in silence, reach out to him, and bring your kid along—the joy a child can bring is so precious.

In the long run, your child will remember what you did for that person, and you will be his hero for it.