At A Mother’s Grave

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in things too great, or in things too wonderful for me. Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, my soul is with me like a weaned child. O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forever.”
-Psalm CXXXI.

O mother dear, I cannot think of thee as dead, though I stand before thine earthly grave, thy spirit livest and thy love is everlasting. Yea, a mother’s love is eternal, even as God is eternal who implanted that love in her heart! O mother dear, how can I begin now to thank thee and repay thee for all that thou hast suffered and endured in order to give me life and to shelter, protect and rear me until I had reached the age of discretion and independence. And even unto the last thou hast been my loving guide and my ever present inspiration. And now, O sacred spirit of my mother, I can offer thee only the tender tear of loving and devoted memory.

O God, help me to live a life worthy my mother’s hope and prayer. Preserve her soul in Thine all-loving peace, and may her spirit ever keep me pure and clean so that when my time comes to leave this earthly dwelling, I may be found worthy to join my mother in her eternal abode of bliss in which the noble and the pure in spirit may behold Thy countenance in everlasting joy. Amen.