Saturday, April 30

To Have and To Hold


The moment I knew you as a Bubble in my Being,
The feeling of your fragile soul breathing within me,
The thought of knowing that I was partnering
In the greatest known miracle,
That moment of awe that I ‘helped’ creating,
That’s when it struck that this was truly ‘To have and to hold’

Those months of watching, waiting and praying,
The nervous excitement, the scans and reports
Those trips to the doctor, to watch you grow,
The awesome sense of wonder that had seized me so
That’s when I knew that this was indeed ‘To have and to hold’

When I laid my eyes upon you, you looked right into mine
Filling me with awe at the Power of the Divine
Throbbing was my heart, when they said “It’s a boy,
Though groggy after surgery, I was giddy with joy
And then when I held you for the very first time
That rush of love within was so sublime
Indeed that moment has stood still in time
And then I knew truly what it was To Have and To Hold

The agonizing wait of those eight years,
Getting angry at God or fighting my fears
Moments of swinging between hope and despair
Resigning, reviling to trusting in prayer
Reaching the point of saying ‘I don’t care’
Standing at the point, where my sorrows lay bare
That’s when Christ embraced me, and I felt His embrace
Then I knew what it was To have and To hold


The days are rolling by, yet the wonder doesn’t cease
And with each ticking minute, my love shall increase
In you I search for a little bit of me,
Though deep inside I know you came with your own identity
And through your little ways of trusting implicitly, depending completely and loving unabashedly
I learn of God’s great love and think of how much God pampers me!
Your innocent eyes, that cherubic smile, to these I am completely sold
Hugging you in my arms I know that this is truly to Have and to Hold

As we gratefully celebrate your second birthday,
With trembling hearts and lips we say,
“Lord, thank you for this miracle babe,
Born to us after a tireless wait
Teach us to bring him up in your mighty ways
So he will seek You today and every day
As with each passing hour Your plan you unfold
I will always remember what it is To Have and to Hold.”


 Written for little Joshua George Kathett who turns two today, April 30, 2011. Please uphold him and us as a family, in your prayers..

5 comments:

Aapka Achen said...

Ahhh...Shilpa this is so beautifully expressed, just awesome. One cannot but draw closer to the love of God after reading this...May God bless you all as a family, more in His love.
Best regards
Fr.Thomas Ninan

Unknown said...

Hi Shilpa

Congrat to both of u on this great day. The poem is truely awesome and
beautiful. You have put into words that most mothers would love the world to know of how they feel.

Congrats of the poem once more and a very happy birthday to Joshua.

Mary Varkey(Baby Aunty)

Shilpa said...

@ Achen...thank you for the encouraging comments...i feel honoured to hear something like this

@Baby Aunty...i am so thrilled and honored to know that you dropped by and read the piece...i hope you will do so more often....as for motherhood...i think all mothers always have a poem running in their heads when it comes to the children....

Anu Singh Choudhary said...

Shilpa, this is so beautiful! Yes, they fill us with gratitude, and yes, they are the best teachers we could have. You should write some more and you should write more often.

Love,
Anu

Shilpa said...

anu you made my day!!!..thanks so much for writing in ....thanks for the encouragement too....:)Shilpa