Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy’
seasons of infertility, years later
“Oh, honey!” She shrieked as she came running towards us, nightgown flapping. “Look at you!” I smiled, the meager smile of a large pregnant woman, bracing herself to hear the usual round of “you’re due when?!” or “you’re sure it’s not twins?” Be nice, I admonished myself. She’s a sweet neighbor. Let the comments be. But…
Read MorePrayers for Childbirth: Spirit as Intercessor and Groaner
The Holy Spirit can be hard to pin down. God’s presence with us, everywhere and always, sure. But many of us wonder what that means, what that looks like. Flames of fire? Speaking in tongues? Here’s what Scripture has to say, which speaks to the Spirit’s presence during labor: Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes…
Read Moreprayers for anxiety in pregnancy
One of the best things about blogging is seeing what brings perfect strangers to your writing. Everyday I can see the list of searches that bring people here. What brings more visitors here than anything else? Prayers for pregnancy. Over time many of these searches were phrased in ways that broke my heart, that found me wondering about the back stories, even…
Read Moregreat expectations
I wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Halfway through this pregnancy, I’m supposed to be feeling good. The morning sickness should have subsided, the second trimester energies should have kicked in. Right now is supposed to be the glowing part of pregnancy. Instead I find myself every week, more mornings than I care to admit,…
Read MoreThis is my body. Given up for you.
The bodiliness of parenting young children. The meaning of the words from the Eucharistic prayer—“This is my body, given up for you”—have taken on a profoundly different meaning after the experiences of bearing, birthing, and nursing a child. I remember being overwhelmed with emotion (and postpartum hormones, no doubt) at the first few Masses I went…
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