🌱 May Care Package of Prayers
When life gets messy and no easy answers arise, it’s easy to wonder where God is in *gestures around* all of this.
Raise your hand if parenting is leaving you exhausted. (I’m aggressively waving both hands.) I’m not too cool to pretend I have not shed a weird amount of tears worrying about my kids this month.
We’re navigating elementary and middle school woes right now, but maybe you have a baby who won’t sleep or a teen who won’t talk to you. Whatever your faith journey or family makeup looks like, you’ve probably gobbled down your own heaping servings of self-doubt as you’re trying to show up with and for your kids with intentionality and care.
I woke up this morning to this song in my head and it brought me to Romans 8.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
It’s almost like God was with us at the dining room table as I cried into my hands (borderline catastrophizing) wondering where God has been as we’ve been making difficult parenting decisions, trying to be faithful and seemingly failing.
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
Nothing can ever separate us from Christ’s love.
Breathe it in, breathe it out.
May this be a reminder for you, too.
Drum Roll, Please….
We’ve been working behind the scenes to produce a brand-new podcast! And the trailer is out today! (Gooooo subscribe!)
Don’t have the words to pray? Now you do. If you're like most parents, you're exhausted. Prayer feels out of reach. But you're not alone.
With short episodes (think 10 minutes!) the Liturgies for Parents podcast invites parents like you to take a breath and find comfort in the prayers of another. You can’t always tote around a book of prayers to turn to when you don’t have the words, but a podcast is something that can take with you anywhere.
Each week, you'll hear some scripture, a short prayer, and a gentle reminder of God's presence in your life from me, a mom of four and author of To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents.
In a weary world, I hope Liturgies for Parents offers a nuanced and nurturing moment of reprieve, inviting all who are raising kids to breathe and remember that God is with you.
My prayer? That this podcast will leave you feeling a bit more centered — and a bit more rooted in God's big love for you, your family, and your neighbors, too.
Help Us Launch the Podcast?
It feels so vulnerable to launch a new podcast baby into the world! Want to help us get this podcast out there? You can help us spread the word by simply subscribing and leaving a starred rating & review on your favorite podcast apps.
Liturgies for Parents is part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. We’re beyond excited to make this a weekly podcast that all parents can turn to for a few minutes of centering and remembering God’s presence in your parenting, even in the chaos.
I’m grateful to share that Bethany is sponsoring this podcast, which keeps episodes free and open to everyone (with no random ad interruptions in the middle of an otherwise peaceful episode!). I’m grateful for the ways this organization is pivoting in the ways they are serving and resourcing kids, prioritizing family preservation, and coming alongside refugees. See the ways they’re keeping families together and how you can get involved (!!) here.
Fresh episodes will drop every Monday morning — the first two will go live a week from today! My hope is that they’re timeless — which means you can go return to the ones you need whenever you need them. Thank you for trusting me!
(Also, some behind the scenes is that after recording the first two episodes, I realized I hoped for a more intimate-sounding *fancy-mic* — I’m excited to level up in this way! After years of podcasting in my pajamas, I feel like a grown-up.)
A Prayer for May
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day can bring up complicated emotions. Whether you’re celebrating or grieving (or maybe holding space for both), here’s your reminder that even your most silent prayers are heard by a God who loves you deeply.
Whatever you’re holding, God knows. I marvel at the way Jesus described his love like the love of a mother hen. That nurturing imagery is vivid and comforting.
I wrote a few prayers in To Light Their Way that might specifically speak to the different angles folks view Mother’s Day from:
Single Mother (page 101)
Being Apart From Your Child (page 29)
Infertility (page 62)
Pregnancy Loss (page 64)
Grieving Mother (page 65)
Depressed Mother (page 69)
Divorced Mother (page 76)
Foster Mother (page 103)
Adoptive Mother (page 14)
Pregnant Mother (page 3)
For Daughters (page 127)
With prayers from pregnancy to college, I hope there are prayers for everyone who shows up in your life with a mothering spirit. (And it’s not too late to order for Mother’s Day!)
A Prayer for Mother’s Day
Below is an excerpt from “A Prayer for Mother’s Day” from To Light Their Way.
We thank You for the women who raised us,
For the women who taught us
How to love boldly
And stand courageously.
We thank You for the women who showed us
How to care for others
And how to care for ourselves, too.
God of heaven and earth,
We thank You for the mothers—
The ones up late into the night,
The ones showing up and doing their best.
We thank You,
For their persistence has cared for us all.
A Major Announcement is Coming Soon!
Stay tuned because it is BIG news. Big, big, big news! (Can you tell I’m a bit excited?)
I’ll give you a hint: It has to do with writing and what I’ll be working on this summer. Any guesses? :)
A Benediction for May
May the God of living hope whisper resurrection
Into your weary bones and heavy heart.
May you receive the sacred gift of slowing down
And staying awake to the holy moments around you.
May you allow yourself the grace of casting aside
Any attempts at parenting perfection — or any perfection at all.
And may all your life,
Your muddy, messy, wonderful life
Be a prayer.
Until Next Time
Please know I’m only an email (or DM) away if you have a prayer request or anything you’d like to share with me as I’m writing. If you’re walking through it, someone else is, too. My personal account is @kayla_craig and, of course, I share prayers over at @liturgiesforparents.
I’m sending you love from rainy, muddy Iowa.
Remember that even when things are going awry and life together looks nothing like you’ve planned, nothing can separate you from God’s perfect love.
Kayla
