A liturgy for: Birth
words to help process and take it all in
Liturgies for the Little Years: In this series, you’ll find words for the everyday experiences of raising young kids in prayer form. My hope is that these liturgies would bring a sense of sacredness, meaning and worship to the ordinary moments of daily life as a parent.
I didn’t cry at the birth of either of my children. There were certainly lots of tears to follow in the forthcoming postpartum weeks… but when I held my babies for the first time in that hospital bed, I honestly struggled to connect to the moment.
I remember being handed my newborn and feeling like I was meeting a stranger. I had expected a more instant connection. And the hours that followed were a confusing combination of deep awe and love mixed with the rawness of exhaustion and overwhelm.
Letting go of the Pressure
If you are a mom who is expecting or who recently gave birth, I share my experience with you in hopes that it might encourage you to let go of any expectations or pressures you might have taken on around birth. It’s okay if birth is not what you hoped or planned for. And with this liturgy, my prayer is that these words might serve to give some expression to the experience of bringing a child into the world, an experience that can feel like so much to process and take in. Two births and fours years into becoming a mom, and I’m still wrapping my mind around the miracle that is birth, that is of both your child and yourself as a mother.
Expectations vs. Reality
And if you’re not in a place where you’re processing birth right now, my hope is that these words and this liturgy would serve as a reminder that in any circumstance, it’s okay when your expectations for motherhood don’t meet reality. It’s okay if you’re not currently experiencing what you think you “should” when someone reminds you that the years are short.
Friend, remember that God is always completely present, relating to the moment perfectly. And all the ways in which we struggle to be fully present or to enjoy the moment are simply opportunities to lean deeper into Him.
Also, remember that you weren’t meant to process through motherhood alone. Share your motherhood stories and experiences with a friend - perhaps they have words for what you’re feeling, and it’s probable you’ll have some for them as well.
On that note, here’s my own offering of words for the experience of birth. What an honor it would be if they should serve to shed a bit of color and light on your own motherhood story.
A liturgy for: Birth
Hallelujah’s rise! Joy rains down: heaven shouts! All around praise resounds for the birth of this child. For this child, whose name was written in God’s plan, whose days are hidden in His hand, whose light might shine for Him, our king, thank you, Lord, for life so sweet! Walk with me now, God, into this new world where I hold for the first time the precious form of my child, now separate from mine. Stand with me beneath the sunrise of this new love: beautiful, yet heavy - a calling to soothe and to steady while my own heart and body still yet tremble. Carry me as I take up this great entrustment of life. Be the everlasting arms that hold up mine. And may this occasion serve to be a doorway through which I might see my own spiritual birth: born again to new life, darkness to light, met at first breath with eyes of love.
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