Writers 
Loving someone deeply can take many forms—between friends, partners, or a parent and child. Yet we may not recognize how precious that love is until we face losing someone we never imagined living without.
For a mother, love begins long before her child can understand it. Carrying a child for nine months brings discomfort, sleepless nights, worry, and uncertainty. Delivery may be difficult as well, but with faith and strength, she endures it all to bring her child into the world.
With God Almighty, all things are possible.
As the child grows, the mother continues to love through sacrifice and care. She worries about what her child eats, the friends they choose, their behaviour, education, and the person they will become. She may go without so her child can have more, care for them while exhausted, and find joy simply in watching them grow.
To the child, these acts may seem ordinary:
“Have you eaten?”
“Where are you going?”
“When will you be back?”
“Take care of yourself.”
Yet one day, those familiar words may become some of the most precious memories a person has.
Then everything changes.
The mother becomes seriously ill. There are prayers, treatments, hope, and the belief that there will be more time—more conversations, laughter, visits, and days together. No one wants to believe that goodbye could truly be the last.
But sometimes life gives us no time to prepare.
Death takes her away, and the person who was always there becomes a memory. Her voice falls silent. She can no longer offer advice, encouragement, or comfort. Memories return: her smile, the way she spoke, the nights she stayed awake when her child was sick, the sacrifices she made without complaint, and the hope she carried for her child’s future.
Grief becomes overwhelming. Pain feels physical. Sleep is difficult, the mind restless, and the body exhausted. Medical tests are done, medicines taken, and money spent searching for answers. Yet the deepest struggle is often invisible: grief—the love that suddenly has nowhere to go, and the pain of knowing someone who mattered so much will never walk through the door again.
For a while, the child feels lost inside that pain. Every memory seems to reopen the wound, and the future feels impossible to imagine without her mother. But beneath the sorrow, the bond remains—the same one that shaped the child’s life from the beginning.
Slowly, something begins to change.
The child learns that remembering someone should not mean destroying oneself with sadness. There must be a way to carry the love without carrying all the pain at once. One day at a time, she begins to breathe again, to rest, and to stop trying to hold everything together. She realizes that it is okay to cry, but also okay to smile; okay to remember, and okay to continue living.
The love her mother gave was never meant to become a punishment. She had always wanted the best for her child, and healing becomes a way of honouring that wish.
Then, one night, the child dreams of her mother standing in a beautiful, bright place, peaceful and happy. They talk about life and the child’s future. There is no hospital, fear, or pain.
When the child wakes, the loss is still real, but something feels different. The memories remain, yet they no longer feel like chains.
They feel like gifts.
The child finally understands what was so difficult to accept: we often do not know we are living a last moment while it is happening.
The last conversation may feel ordinary. The last hug may feel like every other hug. The last goodbye may sound like one we have said many times before. We assume there will always be another day, visit, phone call, or chance to say what we should have said. But life does not always offer another chance.
So value the people you love while they are still here. Say the kind words. Make the call. Show appreciation. Spend time together. Forgive when you can. Care while you can.
Most importantly, love while you can.
Because the last time rarely announces itself. It may hide inside an ordinary question, a familiar embrace, or a goodbye we expect to repeat. Only later do we understand that the moment we barely noticed was the one we would spend the rest of our lives remembering.
Do not wait for loss to teach you the value of presence. Hold the people you love a little closer. Say what your heart has been postponing. Let your gratitude be heard while the person who needs to hear it is still here.
We may never know when an ordinary moment will become our last. But we can meet each day with tenderness, so that when separation comes, it will not be overshadowed by words left unsaid or affection withheld.
Sometimes, we understand the meaning of the last time only when there is no next time. While the people you love are still here, make this moment count. Listen to their stories, answer their calls, forgive the small things, and let them know they are deeply loved.
One day, there may be no next visit, embrace, or “I love you.” When that day comes, may your heart be heavy with grief but free from the regret of having left love unspoken.
