May the road rise up
to meet you
may the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm
on your face
And the rain fall soft
upon your fields
And until we meet again, May God hold you
in the palm of his hand.
—an old Irish Blessing
When Chris, our son, was in high school I used this blessing for his page in his senior year book. I wanted to let him know that no matter where he goes or how far from home that this blessing goes with him. Now he is engaged to be married - time flies. I wonder how his life will unfold, what dreams will he realize and which will die. I pray that he will always feel the rain softly, the wind gently at his back, and the sun warm upon his face. It seems such a short time ago that he was an infant, helpless and dependent. And now, he asks for so little from us, is so self sufficient and undemanding that I almost forget how far we have come from his first days. I pray that his life will be uncomplicated by tragedy, that he will do good for others, that his gifts will be fully realized in whatever community he becomes a part of. I pray that God will hold him in the palm of his hand and that Chris will have the sense to feel the love with which he is held.
When I think of the children in the world who have not been so blessed it is wrenching. I cannot imagine how a mother feels who must watch her children suffer or how those children's souls, are perhaps, compromised by misery. When you have born a child, carried them in your belly, fed them at your breast, it is as if every pain they feel is your own, every sling and arrow a piercing of your own heart. The impossible dream - a world in which every child has a life uncomplicated by tragedy, the opportunity to do good for others, a world that is the stage for their gifts to be bestowed upon. What would that world look like and why is it so hard to imagine? I think women have to take the lead in this vision because we have this connection to our children that is so primal, because we are driven by this instinct to protect and nurture. Our sons must learn, not only, duty and responsibility, but compassion and caring. To see the world not as a field to conquer but as a home to nurture. And our daughters, who carry with them this vision, must stand up and say enough each time a child is sacrificed. We can teach our children to envision the world differently, to be actors upon a stage of goodness and creation. If we live in darkness we are still able to see the light, to find a path towards it, and to lead others with us. May God hold us (gently) in the palm of his/her hand.
