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everyday parenting as spiritual practice

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how to pray with baby: for fussy moments

6 Comments

Wondering how to be more mindful with a new baby in your life? Check out two more ways to pray – all day long and up all night – and the complete series on spiritual practices with newborns.

. . .

Crying

cryingTo pray:

O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
   and you have healed me. 
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
   restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. 

Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning. 

Psalm 30:2-3, 5b

To practice:

When your baby’s screaming reaches ear-splitting levels, take a deep breath and think of all those throughout the world who are crying out in pain and fear and sadness right now – victims of violence, war, and abuse.

Try to imagine what it must be like for God to hear all these cries at this very moment. Pray for your heart to be opened to the cries around you.

. . .

Comforting

comfortingTo pray:

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   I took them up in my arms;
   but they did not know that I healed them. 
I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with bands of love.
I was to them like those
   who lift infants to their cheeks.
   I bent down to them and fed them.

Hosea 11:3-4

To practice:

When your baby wails and wails, in the middle of the night or for hours in the afternoon, remember all the babies whose cries will go un-comforted today.

Pray for babies who are abandoned, abused, or neglected. Pray for children who lack food, water, shelter or safety.

. . .

Accepting help

To pray:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

accepting helpEcclesiastes 4:9-12

To practice:

Make a mental list of all the people who have helped you through pregnancy, birth, and life with a new baby. Family, friends, doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, moms’ groups, or babysitters. People nearby who helped in everyday ways and people who supported you through thoughts and prayers from afar.

Each time you feel overwhelmed during the day by how much you have to do to care for baby, remember one of the people who has helped you. Give thanks to God for their generosity and thoughtfulness.

Imagine how you might be able to help someone else in their time of need – even and especially with your prayers while your hands are full.

. . .

Next time: how to pray with baby – in peaceful moments!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cassie @Kent Heartstrings says

    4 August 2014 at 10:39 am

    So beautiful!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      4 August 2014 at 10:56 am

      Thank you, Cassie!!

      Reply
  2. Angel says

    22 September 2017 at 12:20 pm

    This just blessed my 3 month old son & I and I have shared it in the mom groups I am in on Facebook So humbling!

    Reply
  3. Cynthia R Giron says

    15 August 2018 at 5:57 am

    Thank you so much. May God continue to bless you and your LO ❤

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. how to pray with baby: in peaceful moments « mothering spirit says:
    6 August 2014 at 6:38 am

    […] last in the series on how to pray with baby: all day long, up all night, in fussy moments, and in peaceful […]

    Reply
  2. spiritual practices with newborns: a new series « mothering spirit says:
    1 September 2014 at 4:21 pm

    […] in fussy moments […]

    Reply

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About Laura

I’m Laura Kelly Fanucci. Mother, writer, wonderer. This space is where I explore mothering through writing. It’s where I celebrate how God shows up in the chaos of raising children. It’s where I love to build community with readers like you. Read More…

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thismessygrace

Mother, writer, wonderer.
Seeker of God in chaos & life with kids.
Author of Everyday Sacrament & Grieving Together.
Glimpses of grace & gratitude.

thismessygrace
I want to tell you what it means to weep with thos I want to tell you what it means to weep with those who weep.

It means you will be changed. You must be changed.

Weeping with those who weep does not mean passing the thin Kleenex of your pity.

Nor does it mean steamrolling their grief with your opinion.

Nor does it mean telling them to pull themselves up, be strong, or get over it.

It means you plunk yourself down next to them, quiet yourself, listen and let yourself be moved.

Which means changed. Which means converted.

This is why the exhortation is holy. Why we call it God’s Word and not just A Nice Thing To Do.

We read Romans 12 at our wedding. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Had we known then what we know now, would we have spoken words of weeping on a day of rejoicing?

Absolutely.

Our calling as Christ-followers is to be transformed by the suffering of others—and to do what we can to lessen their pain. We are here to live the breadth and depth and sorrow and joy of what it means to be human.

If you see the staggering sorrow around you and wonder where to start, sit down near the mourning, quiet yourself, listen and let yourself be moved. What they want most is to be heard and honored, supported and seen.

Weep with those who weep.

Do not seek to minimize, justify, or dismiss. Do not seek to save yourself from the mess. You are already part of it.

But you can be part of the healing, too. When you weep with those who weep.

Then ask God to show you what to do next.
Where can a mother go to grieve? She craves comfo Where can a mother go to grieve?

She craves comfort for body and soul. She seeks the sanctuary of safe space. She wants the wisdom of women who have walked this way before. She needs time to honor her love, remember her child, and wrestle with her grief.

This May, I want to offer this space of solace.

Oasis is a virtual retreat for grieving mothers. On May 1-2 (Bereaved Mother’s Day), we’ll gather to create a place of prayer and support.

In the comfort of our own homes, we’ll reflect with simple, creative practices to connect with God, each other, and our children. Together we’ll share Scripture, small groups, and space for reflecting in peace and quiet.

We’ll drink from the Word. We’ll find beauty in art and song.

We’ll learn from other mothers who understand the loss of a child.

We’ll keep finding a way in the wilderness together.

Oasis is a crossroads of connection on our journey. A place where we can pause and be refreshed. A moment’s rest where we can seek God’s peace and presence.

You can make this retreat right in the middle of your life, joining us for as much as you need.

Registration is now open on my website. Sliding scale fees & scholarships are available if you need. You can also gift the retreat to a grieving mother you love.

Whether you lost a baby before birth or a child in adulthood, your story matters here.

Step into the comfort of Oasis.

#griefsupport #grievingmother #griefretreat #childloss
Coming to you Friday morning. A big piece of my he Coming to you Friday morning. A big piece of my heart, ready to welcome you in.

Today as I sit in quiet anticipation, I’m remembering echoes of The Day Before.

The day before birth, waiting and wondering whether baby was on the way.

The day before death, hoping and praying for peace and the power of a miracle.

Tomorrow holds slivers of birth and death, all woven together, tight to my heart.

It’s a new creation I’ve dreamed about for years, but never got to bring to life until now.

Most importantly, it’s my prayer to you—that you know you aren’t alone in the broken places.

Coming soon.
The year after our daughters died was filled with The year after our daughters died was filled with stunning skies.

Violet sunsets and rosy dawns. Navy stormclouds and lavender evenings. Buttercream wisps and pewter fogs.

I spent hours that year craning my eyes up, tilting my head back to take in the wide view. Had I never looked up before, never noticed the shifting seasons in the stars?

The world was ripped open, jarring and raw—but the year of violet skies was a sole beauty.

Grief can peel back parts of existence you did not know before. We call it darkness or depression, heaping layers of shadow upon realities that reach beyond words. But what it is runs deeper: the gold-flecked vein of life cutting through the gray stone of loss.

We are shining. We are barely scraping by.

As spring unfurls into shocking buds and pale green hope, I keep remembering that wild palette of horizons five years gone.

Bruised skies, slashing rains. Watercolor sunsets bleeding into night. A pale peach sunrise so breathless and perfect I thought it might be the last on earth.

And then it wasn't. And then the next day rose and set anew. Life keeps going, even when ours stops. Equal parts blessing and curse.

We get to choose so little of what happens to us. But we have the power to notice.

Seeing can be enough to save a life.
Spent Holy Saturday musing on mothering & grief. H Spent Holy Saturday musing on mothering & grief. How birth can be like death (and death like birth). How food can become Love.
Easter Monday is for the rest of us. The slow to Easter Monday is for the rest of us.

The slow to believe.
The skeptics. The doubters.

The ones who can’t run to see for themselves.

The stuck. The uncertain.
The lost or forgotten.

The quiet who shy away from the crowds.

Easter was spotlights and sugar and singing. But remember: this season is only beginning.

You are not too late, too lost, or too gone.

You’re part of the reason this long way rolls on.

So if you rise grateful—that holiday’s over—or if you sink deeper, dreading the dawn:

Today (and tomorrow, all 50 days after) are here to remind you that this road is long.
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