"Will you walk with me as I mother?"

Childhood gives them roots, while young adulthood gives them wings

This week on Mothering Spirit

Jenni Ho-Huan reflects on the span of motherhood from young children to grown adults, finding how God’s grace was present in surprising ways all along:

“Even when they were small, I was nervous that time would march relentlessly on and I would find myself where I am today: my kids ready to fly the coop and me, unready.

This April, a tall, sincere, young man asked for my daughter’s hand. My social media went frenzied, and everyone asked how I felt. My standard response was that I had no idea because I had never felt this way before. (The young man would say I made him jump through a few hoops!)

…My parenting style at this point is summed up as: Deeply Grateful, Sometimes Nervous, Ever Learning.”

Read the rest here: Too Big To Be Told: Parenting Young Adults.

Allison Bobzien gives us two prayers for the mess of motherhood—one to God who creates out of chaos and one to remind us that Mary knew motherhood’s hard days, too:

You who know the mess of motherhood,
The sensory overwhelm of constant noise,
The highs and lows of the everyday,
For even your sinless babe spilled,
Even your perfect toddler shrieked,
Even good mamas fall apart.

Fortify me in the chaos.
Laugh with me in the midst of the muddle.
Will you walk with me as I mother?

Read the whole prayer here: A Prayer for the Mess of Motherhood.

For more reading

Let yourself linger with this Easter prayer from Rakhi McCormick.

“I believe in all things made new, that we are participants in this story that is ever-unfolding toward renewal. But spring—resurrection—does not come for us on cue even if the cherry blossoms and alleluias do. It does not come for us on demand or on our timeline. Sometimes it does not even come within our lifetime. For most of us, we live in the brutality of the meantime.” Lament for a Tree from

Stephanie Duncan Smith

Anti-depressants ushered me into deeper communion with God and with myself by

Gina

Dadaglo.

“Each time I birthed my babies, I felt this joy-from-relief, overwhelmed in those spinning moments after delivery, surging with intensity that words fail to capture, a swirl of pain and exhilaration, delight and delirium, disbelief and astonishment…I wonder if Easter morning was like this, too.” (Joy, Meet Relief)

Want to write for us?

We’re looking for short prayers on the following topics related to upcoming essays. Let us know if any of these themes speak to you?

• Raising kids with disabilities - due 4/18

• Navigating multiple callings to work and home - due 4/25

• The mental load of motherhood - due 5/2

Original prayers are accepted (previously published on your social media, blog, or other personal site are fine). We’ll give you full credit and copyright, and tag you on our social media when we publish. You can respond here with your prayer(s) or email them to newsletter@motheringspirit.com.

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