When All You Have Are Arms

I am thankful I have arms.

For lifting. Grabbing. Reaching. Stirring.

Clapping. Squeezing. Strumming.

Holding. Supporting.

And sometimes,

Sometimes arms are needed

When words can't be found.

When syllables, sentences and consonant sounds cannot do justice to what is inside a heart.

When

"I am so proud of you"

Although true,

Does not begin to express the hopes,

The dreams,

The prayers,

The cries

That have been whispered into the ear of God

For you

From before I heard your first heartbeat

From before the doctor said, "It's a girl."

From before you took your first steps

All through your young girlhood

and teenage years

Those hopes and dreams and prayers have been spoken over you

For eighteen years

Until today

Your graduation day

When I could find no words.

Only arms.