Essays

c-section christ

Our Undoing is Our Becoming

By Rakhi McCormick | March 13, 2023

This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, shed for you. How many times had I heard these words at Mass, even though I had converted only in young adulthood? The passion narrative punched me in the gut every Palm Sunday with the retelling of Jesus’s suffering and death.1 The same crowds…

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finding God in troubling times

Love and Hope in Troubling Times

By Lauren Nizol | March 6, 2023

“Let’s be present in the rain.”  It was the end of May: precisely that time of year where I’m reeling from the exhaustion of both teaching and parenting. There is so much that happens in May; it’s the busy culmination of the school year where the days get longer and evenings are peppered with band…

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Finding God in all parts of parenting

You’re Doing Great (and Other Truths from God and Bluey)

By Sarah Rose | February 27, 2023

“You’re doing great.” Three words from a cartoon dog were all it took to wreck me. They’re said in an episode of my son’s favorite cartoon, Bluey. (Ok, my favorite too.) The title of the episode is “Baby Race,” and in short, it’s a seven-minute emotional roller coaster where Bluey’s mom, Chili, shares the story…

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walking with your child through a traumatic experience

Ferocious Motherlove

By Amber Haines | February 20, 2023

It was my second-born son’s first date night, and the cute couple had planned an evening at the Washington County Fair with his big brother and friends. That night, I couldn’t wait to hear how it went. I envisioned them leaning close in their baggy jeans standing in lines below bright jolting rides, drinking torso-sized…

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emotional load single parenting

Me, the Emotional Metronome

By Colleen Connell Mitchell | February 13, 2023

I stared at my work calendar on the computer as a sinking feeling washed over me. I had opened the calendar to place an important appointment for a child only to realize I was already scheduled for an all-day training. I quickly dialed the doctor’s office. No open appointments for weeks. I quickly called older…

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mother anger

Shadow Revelations

By Marina Gross-Hoy | February 6, 2023

Everything felt heavy. My eyelids, the child in my arms, the unrelenting stretch of time before dinner.  I lugged my son over to the swing set, managing to convince him that this would be an acceptable next step in our park experience. I stood behind him and pushed, the effort demanding the last dregs of…

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how to pray for child in hospital

God’s Fingerprints On The Hardest Days

By Shauna'h Fuegen | January 30, 2023

“You need to leave from here and go directly to the hospital. He needs to be admitted tonight, and he will need surgery.”  There is so much I don’t remember about this moment. Was my 8-year-old son Andrew in the room with us when the orthopedist said these words to me? He must have been,…

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video games kids

Never In A Million Years: Playing the Parenting Game

By Holly Forseth | January 23, 2023

Most days, I pop into my teenage boys’ rooms to plant a kiss on their heads. Sometimes it’s because I walk by, see their sweet little (actually, big) selves at the computer, and have the urge to say hi. Other times I realize I haven’t seen them in awhile, so I stop what I’m doing…

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conflicted relationship with church as parent

Why I Stay

By Laura Johnson | January 16, 2023

There are days when I wonder why I’m still in the Church. Days when I am so jaded by the politics and hypocrisy and scandals that too often haunt our Christian communities that I wonder if there is anything left of the Church worth staying for. Is there anything left for my children to learn,…

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birth racial trauma

Fighting For Our Lives

By Justina Kopp | January 9, 2023

“I am very frustrated. I don’t understand why you can’t just be confident in our care!” My perinatal specialist yelled these words to me when I was around 24 weeks pregnant with quadruplets. Why? Because I was asking her questions about what my children’s birth might look like. Up to this point, no one had…

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mama bear

Becoming Mama Bear: How losing my husband introduced me to a ferocious divine love

By Clarissa Moll | January 2, 2023

When our children were young, my husband Rob and I often took them for hikes in the nearby Cascade Mountains outside our home in Seattle. Home to approximately 20,000 black bears, Washington’s mountains required a healthy respect for wilderness, and we taught our kids how to do it. A hearty “Hey, bear!” alerted furry neighbors…

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letting go motherhood

She Never Regretted Her Yes

By Anna Bonnema | December 26, 2022

During the June after my triplets’ junior year of high school, I signed up for a five-day silent retreat about three hours north of my home. Right off the bat, I thought twice about going since I knew we were heading into their senior year, the last year they would live at home. Part of me…

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