The Book I Leave Behind
Suggested listening: Sara Groves' "You Cannot Lose My Love" (Grab your tissues. This is not a drill, people.) When my mom died, she left behind notes for the three of us kids and our spouses. When my mom died, I had no idea I was pregnant. As my pregnant belly grew, I read that precious single-page note over and over, mourning the loss of my mom and grieving both her and the fact that my daughter Laila would never know her. As much as I loved the immense thoughtfulness of that note, the sight of her gorgeous handwriting on the page, the wonderful weight of her words, I couldn’t help but want more – more of my mom’s wisdom on marriage, on motherhood, on faith, on life in general. And I couldn’t help but think ahead to Laila, to what I would leave behind for her. And so, I started not just a note but a whole book for her. In the early pages of the book, she’ll find stories from my pregnancy, from the night her dad put her crib together, from the early Su...