I was boarding a plane in Atlanta when I heard the news about Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. My heart sank thinking of his poor wife and his beautiful children and how devastating his loss will be to them.
I just can not imagine that pain of losing a husband, a father.
As I landed in Jackson, MS, my phone clicks on and my notifications come up. A text from my husband that he’s grabbing the kids and will meet me at home. Then I see the news notification. Gianna Bryant has died with her father.
Related: In a World Without Kobe, Sports Feels Forever Changed
I couldn’t keep it together long enough to make it to my car. Now I’m sitting here in the airport parking lot crying uncontrollably because my heart is breaking for this poor Mama. Breaking in two.
Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and one of the greatest to ever play the game, dies in a helicopter crash with eight others, including one of his daughters. https://t.co/KMyvx2W0WD
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 26, 2020
A loss no mother ever wants to endure. A loss no mother should ever have to endure. A loss that I know nothing about and pray I never have too.
I cry for her broken heart. I cry for her pain. I cry for my own children. God, please keep them safe. I cry for all the mothers that have had to bury their children.
Unfortunately, so many mothers have been through this, and I hurt thinking about that. It’s a pain I can not imagine. I cry for those women and hurt for them.
Pausing to remember a great one, gone too soon. pic.twitter.com/YOAIkldiX4
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 26, 2020
It makes you think of your own children and just the thought of losing a child is too much to bear. Just the thought.
As mothers, we are connected by a single thread that runs through all of us reaching from one to another and when that thread is damaged we all feel it. We grieve and mourn alongside each other.
“I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”
Rest well #BlackMamba 👑🙏🏻#KobeBryant #Kobe pic.twitter.com/6Ha9uN23xS
— Collins Mitfol (@CMitfol) January 26, 2020
God, I ask you to wrap your arms around Vanessa Bryant and all the other mothers out there that are feeling pain and grief. All the mothers mourning the loss of a child. The women mourning the loss of a husband.
Hold them tight. Give them comfort. Heal their broken hearts.
Amen.