My Dream for my Women's Faith Sharing Group

I am part of a women's faith sharing group that has been meeting for nearly 5 years.  All of us are Mama's (it's what brought us together).  We have a retreat this weekend and I was journaling today about parenthood- God-- you know the things I spend a lot of time thinking about...

This is a reflection or prayer or perhaps a poem in thinking about our intersecting journey's of faith and parenting...

I don’t believe that we will wake up one day and realize we weren’t paying attention to their childhoods.

I believe that one day we will wake up and realize that we knew God better and deeper than we were paying attention to.

One day after getting enough sleep and after having a private shower...

And after letting it sink in that parenting is never past tense verb..

And after having sat in the wallows with a dying friend/partner/parent/marriage/(or heavenforbid a) Child

We will will awaken to realize that we have known God all along.

We will realize that when we counted our baby's toes  we were not inspecting their bodies but loving them with the absolute love that God offers.

When we managed to find the patience to deal with a child whose body shakes with fear because there is mouse in the house that we have re enacted the consoling accompaniment of God.

When we feed their adolescent bodies and welcome their emerging adulthood that we have offered hospitality to God herself.

We will realize that our worries about every little thing have been God’s great anxiety about her people.

All along our losses and joys have been the retelling of the story of God’s deep love and abiding with us.  I believe that we, in opening ourselves to the life of faith, a life of parenthood, a life of partnership, are some of the deepest retellers of this unfolding and sacred creation.