Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’
It’s Fine. Everything’s Fine. (Except I Lit the Fire.)
Have you seen the meme of the dog sipping coffee amongst the flames? The one where he says “It’s fine. Everything’s fine”? Most days I am that dog, sitting calmly through the chaos. And yet, I also lit the fire. My anger frightens me. It lies dormant beneath a peaceful exterior, surprising everybody, including me,…
Read MoreReflections of a Pregnant Church
I can feel myself stretching. There is tension in my skin, and soreness in my breasts as they usher life in. I am enlarging the space inside of myself; This Body made up of so many parts. They were all comfortable, all had their roles; An eye as an eye and an ear as an…
Read MoreForgiveness in Families: Your Turn
This Week on Mothering Spirit Karianna’s essay invites us to consider how we forgive our families—our parents as well as our children. Rakhi’s prayer beckons us into the shadowlands of our own hearts, to ask for God’s mercy. Resources to keep reflecting A forever-favorite essay from Brian Doyle on forgiveness as a father: A Sin. From the Mothering Spirit…
Read MoreForgiving when you want to burn the world down
We live in a world that is based on relationships. Not many of us are called to live the life of a hermit, and that means that we interact with people on a daily basis. Most of those interactions are favorable and bring us nothing but joy and good feelings. Other interactions are more transactional…
Read MoreAnger & Forgiveness: Your Turn
This Week on Mothering Spirit Jess’ essay speaks truth about the anger buried within motherhood. Kimberly’s prayer (in both English and Spanish) asks for the grace of forgiveness. Our big news: we’ve just announced our first virtual retreat! Sing A New Song: A Birth Story Retreat will come to you in the comfort of your home on…
Read MoreFor Days When We Get It All Wrong
God, there are days when I get this all so wrong. I lose my patience, I yell, I cry. I just don’t have the control I wish I had. Not over them, but over myself. I tell myself, “they’re just kids!” And then I battle with the patience I was never shown. I tell myself,…
Read MoreThe Rising Fire Within Us
It wasn’t only in the dark, when the lights were out and my thoughts had a tendency to expand and disparage themselves. It wasn’t only when the baby needed nursing at 2:00 a.m. and the street lights shone brightly across the street over our neighbor’s silver maple. It wasn’t only when I had to repeat…
Read Morei sing it for you
I roared at them tonight. And when I say roared, I mean bellowed from the very core of my being – the tired, angry, frustrated, exasperated, unheard and unnoticed depths of my body and soul, from which I was completely and utterly and maddeningly sick of having asked, cajoled, coaxed, pleaded, begged, demanded, and commanded them…
Read Morespiritual practices with newborns: cleaning
Yellow-stained diapers are hanging outside on the deck, bleaching in the sun. Pump parts are drying on the kitchen counter. A rolled heap of wet mattress cover and crib sheet waits on the floor in front of the washing machine. Burp cloths are draped across couches and chairs. (And as I type this one-handed while…
Read MoreCourage From The Tomb
What took more courage: going into the tomb or coming out? On Good Friday the thought of going into the tomb overwhelms me. Too much blood and betrayal, too much violence and grief. I drag my feet, wanting to stay in Holy Thursday where we break bread and wash each other’s dirt away. Yes, there’s…
Read MoreFor The Mornings We Yell
For the mornings we wake up determined to make it a better day, and then we don’t— For the times we promise to soak up the sweetness of these fleeting years, and then we wish them away— For the days we want to fill with laughter and song, and then they’re darkened by bad moods and…
Read MoreA Mother’s Prayer for Ash Wednesday
God of Ash Wednesday, whose hands first gathered dust to create us, whose Spirit breathed new life into brittle bones, whose fingers traced the sand to save a sinner, take the dirt of my life— the tempers lost, the doors slammed, the complaints muttered, the harsh words thrown, the dark doubts seethed— take all these…
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