For Supportive Female Friendships

Devoted Companion,

At this and every stage of my daughter’s life,
bring her female friends who will be faithful and true.

Protect their hearts from jealousy and insecurity,
betrayal and comparison.
May they lift one another up,
reveling in each other’s successes as though they were their own
(seeing that, in fact, they are).
May they share secrets and share clothes,
share books and share dreams.
May they delight in each other’s individuality
and appreciate their differences.
May their friendship propel each girl to become more fully herself.

There will be those who will use them and lose them,
those who will grow tired of them,
those who will be threatened by them,
but this I pray:
may my daughter and her girlfriends find all they need by linking
arms together.

Amen.

Content taken from Feminist Prayers for My Daughter by Shannon K. Evans, ©2023. Used by permission of Brazos Press.

Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and the author of the books Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life and Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality. With interest in ecofeminism, contemplative practice, and social change, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion. She has partnered with the Jesuits of Canada and the U.S. and is a frequent contributor to Franciscan Media. Having previously lived in Indonesia for two years, Shannon loves to travel, but is happiest at home on the Iowa prairie with her family and beloved chickens.