Dear God, please let Mommy get better soon

so we can celebrate her fortieth birthday this June.

I worry every time I walk through the hospital door

that she won't be breathing anymore.

I need her failing heart to get better.

That's why I am writing you this letter.

My life would be a mess without her in it.

So please let her wake up this hour, this minute.

Daddy is gone and all I have left is my big brother.

How can we go on without our mother?

He's only thirteen, so he can't take care of me.

I'll end up in a foster home, since I have no other family.

He might wind up in some other place.

Don't let this happen, God. Please give Mommy the grace

she needs to pull through and get strong again.

I need this nightmare to come to an end.

She's always been there for me whenever I need her.

I hate seeing her like this, with tubes hooked up to her that feed her.

I know I'm just an eight-year-old kid,

but I would like to know what Mommy ever did

to deserve being stuck in a hospital and fighting for her life.

The thought of living without her slices me like a knife.

I know you have other important prayers to answer,

but won't you please rid Mommy of her cancer?

I miss feeling her arms around me, holding me tight.

Thank you for listening. Amen and goodnight.