This is my body, broken for you
Help me to see the strength and courage in this great act of love
Welcome to the Mothering Spirit newsletter! Each Saturday morning, you’ll receive a round-up of the week’s posts—perfect for your weekend reading.
This week on Mothering Spirit
Rakhi McCormick reflects on the surrender of motherhood she experienced through her c-section, a birth that many of us can relate to:
“Those first moments of motherhood, arms outstretched on an operating table in imitation of Christ’s arms outstretched on the cross, were symbolic in every way of what would be demanded of me in every future moment. No one could have adequately prepared me for this radical yet slow transformation over the minutes, hours, and days to come.
Motherhood has stretched me beyond my capabilities in more ways than I can count. It has led me to my breaking point even more often. There are days I question whether I am strong enough, or if God made a mistake in choosing me for this task. Yet in each of those breakdowns, what is shattered opens the way for something new to be born in me.
This is my body, broken for you…”
Read the rest here: Our Undoing is Our Becoming
Have you had a c-section? Or know a friend who struggled with her own birth story? This Prayer for A C-Section can speak to any mother who knows the surrender and strength of surgical birth. Share with a mom who might need to remember how holy this kind of birth can be.
Jesus—
You taught us that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.
As I lay down my body for my child, and give myself into the surgeon’s hands,
help me to see the strength and courage in this great act of love.
The whole prayer is here: A Prayer for a C-Section
(Want more like this? Check out Prayers for Birth, now available as an e-book from Mothering Spirit.)
Who’s struggling with your best-laid Lent plans? (Raises hand.) Here are words for encouragement when you want to quit:
Let yourself hear God's voice
In that same gentle, loving encouragement
You offer to your child.
Lent is a long road.
We have 40 new days to start again.
Read the rest here or watch our 1-Minute Retreat on Instagram.
From the archives
Have you ever thought about the physical sacrifices of parenting beyond pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding? Picture carrying the baby for hours. Or scrubbing the toilet when the whole house gets sick. Or tossing and turning when teens are out late.
This essay reminds us how all parents give of themselves to the children they love:
“I imagine it never ends, the bodliness of parenting. People joke about children causing wrinkles and grey hairs, but it’s true that we bear the marks of sacrifice in our scars, our aches and anxieties. This is my body, given up for you. Out of love, out of faith, out of hope. Out of the dream that perhaps one day you, too, will give yourself up for another.
Take; this is me. There is no greater love.”
Read the rest at This Is My Body. Given Up For You.
A final word for reflection
“In the midst of a culture that encourages us to be as comfortable as possible, the themes of Lent are subtle and rather radical ones. But when we listen seriously to Jesus’ message as he returned from the desert—his call to his listeners to reform their lives—then taking some time to examine what's really important to us, and what we are choosing with our lives, looks more and more worthwhile.
Because our lives are deeply linked to others, mothers know that there are many times when our love will stretch us in ways we would rather not be stretched, but we also wouldn't have it any other way. There is a discipline, a kind of basic training that happens in a mother’s experience, that teaches her—as a disciple—the deeper ways of the heart. This process of conversion and growth, however, is far from comfortable at times.”
(Kathleen Finley, The Liturgy of Motherhood: Moments of Grace)
If you like what you read at Mothering Spirit, we’d love if you’d share this with a friend! Maybe someone who needs encouragement in her mothering journey—or a place to pray in the midst of her busy days. Thanks for supporting our writers by sharing their work, following us on Instagram or Facebook, or supporting us on Patreon.
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