This place I hadn’t expected to be
Turn the impossible into possible
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—new for Advent
Katie Cassady shares a story of complicated joy in pregnancy after loss: “You might imagine that those little pink lines put me instantly over the moon with long-awaited joy and hopes fulfilled, but you would be wrong.”
Our 1st Advent Prayer for Overwhelmed Parents asks for hope in hard times: “When all we see is the darkness of not-enough, be our light. When all we feel is the crunch of too-much, be our peace.”
In Friday’s resource round-up, we shared 3 simple (and free) ways to celebrate Advent as a parent.
We also asked readers: What complicated joy has parenthood brought you?
Share your answers here.
Advent Extras
This week on social media we shared our Advent Prayers for Overwhelmed Parents. If you’re feeling the financial crunch and stress this season, may these words bring you hope.
We also shared our first One-Minute Retreat on Instagram. We’ve got plenty more coming to give you the chance to pause your scroll and pray, to turn back to God and turn the day around. If you’ve only got a minute, you have everything you need.
If you can spare $5 this season, you can help two single moms and their families. Marcia Lane-McGee is organizing her second Christmas Wishes campaign to directly support these two families—a wonderful way to live the Christmas spirit by caring for mothers and children. Learn more & give whatever you can here!
From our sponsors
This week’s writing is sponsored by Give Us This Day, a daily devotional to help you deepen your prayer life. Request a free sample of the print edition here or download the app here for a free 30-day trial to help you pray this Advent.
A final word for reflection
“Advent is a short season, yet it covers a long distance. It is the road of a soul from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It seems such a short distance as we are accustomed to thinking of distances. Yet it is a road into infinity, into eternity. It has a beginning, but no end. In truth, Advent is the road of the spiritual life which all of us must start if we do not want to miss the way.”
(from Catherine Doherty, Donkey Bells: Advent and Christmas)
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