Tagged: motherhood

For all mothers everywhere. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:19, NIV Among my most precious earthly possessions is an old trunk. Scratched and battered, it sits squat and square by my desk. On the front, just below the scuffed brass latches, is the hand-lettered name and address of one of my life-mentors. This trunk was all she carried with her almost a century ago when she left her home in England to travel by sea to North Africa. There she became a mother to the masses for over fifty years, welcoming new life into the world as both physical and spiritual midwife. Her trunk, now filled with treasures I’ve gathered over the years, is a daily… Read More

[caption id="attachment_4106" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!  Psalm 84:3-4[/caption] Be quiet, O heart, O stubborn heart! Cease your troubled thunder.   Hush now, heart, Compose yourself,   Discern the song of silence.   Can you hear the tinkling melody of swallows? The birds are not worried.   Among the olive trees They dance; Upon branches sparkling with diamond raindrops They drink  Water from heaven.   To and fro,  They journey; With songs of gratitude They delight  In the food that is given.   The doves… Read More

Grab a cup of coffee and pull your chair up close. I want to talk to you, one mother to another. There are some things we need to get straight, and I think we can help each other. We are both pulling this load, carrying this bundle, pushing this cart, holding tight to this privilege called motherhood.  First, I want you to know that you can’t ruin everything.  You're powerful, that's true. You are mighty because you are a mother. But you and I don't have that much power. Power so great it can stop the always-pursuing, chasing-our-hearts, life-transforming love and grace of God. God is sovereign, girl! And underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:26-28). He doesn’t just go before us (Isaiah 52:12), He goes behind… Read More

@audreycfrank And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand…' Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. (Genesis 21:16-20, NIV) There is a time in many mothers' lives when, like Hagar, they “sit nearby”, a feeling of helplessness overwhelming them as they watch their children suffer. On… Read More

According to the dictionary, a pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place. Whether you are a mother who only held your child briefly in your womb, a mother who has outlived her children, a mother who is striving alone to raise children in a frightening world, the mothering journey is sacred, holy. We find in Psalm 84 a map for the pilgrimage of motherhood. Upon close examination, we discover that it makes a large circle. Its beginning and end are the same, and one finds herself embarking on this journey from the same place to which she hopes to return at the journey’s end. The pilgrimage of motherhood is all about Trust. Trusting the Lord, dwelling with Him. He is the beginning and end of our… Read More