A Blessing for the September Mother

A Blessing for the September Mother:

Who doesn’t make enough memories 
Or lives for the bucket list 
Who misses the first day of school 
Or performs acrobatics to get it off work
Who holds milestones and grief in the same hand 
Or relishes in routine 
Who feels nauseous with anxiety
Or notices she can breathe again  
Who despises making packed lunches
Or longs to see every meal 
Who sticks name tags on uniforms 
Or says goodbye in student halls 
Who celebrates an empty car seat 
Or mourns an empty nest 
Who sells a kidney to buy a blazer 
Or panic potty trained last month
Who wonders if she’ll survive 
September
as a mother.

May you feel the gentle grasp of Jesus
leading you through every inch of your overwhelm. 
And may you know when the expectations you’ve placed on yourself are,
quite frankly, pure trash. 
May God free you from the chains of comparison
and shock you with the beauty of this calling. 
May you know he nailed your mum guilt to the cross.
And when weeping hangs around for the night,
may you remember joy comes in the morning.
Maybe not tomorrow morning. But some morning. Very soon. 
May you catch a glimpse of the God who hung stars in the sky,
who not only gives you a second thought,
but totally, utterly, completely cares for you.
And may you know the moon and your children
were His before they were ever yours. 
So may you know when to cling tight and when to let go. 
May his presence fill every empty crevice
of your home and your heart. 
And at the end of your surrender,
may you find grace upon grace,
for the task of being a September Mother.

Rebecca Smyth is a Northern Irish storyteller, wife and unlikely mum of three sons. After becoming a mother at eighteen, and at a time of feeling totally lost, she found her words. She says writing is now her way of seeing God in her life and she hopes that maybe, through her stories, you might see him in yours too. In this season she is happiest on a slow Saturday morning with coffee, copious amounts of pastries and snuggles with her boys. Oh, and a book. Always a book.