mama’s body

mama’s thirtieth birthday was special
but what I remember most isn’t the golden crown, cake, or icecream
what I remember most is mama’s body

mama’s body, great with child
I thought it was beautiful
and I knew it was a miracle

I remembered being three
when mama told me she couldn’t carry babies
her body rebelled against her desires

but God crafted a miracle
through a little girl’s prayer (my prayer)
and gave not just one, but two babies

the first came when mama was twenty-seven
the next, two weeks after mama’s thirtieth birthday
two sisters for the girl who was supposed to be alone

three daughters for a mama whose body
rebelled against her desires
this body that seemed too weak to carry a baby, carried three

and continues to carry them
at first, she carried us in her womb
then in her arms

she still carries us
even though so often our bodies are far from hers
she carries us in her heart

sometimes I hate my body
it’s weak, and that isn’t its only flaw
some of its flaws were inherited from mama

…inherited from mama…
my body came from hers
perhaps mine could be as beautiful as hers

I look at my body again and smile
because my body came from my mama’s
and mama’s body is beautiful

fight for love’s fire

love can be roses
and walks in the park
holding hands as day closes
and feeling that “spark”

but sometimes I need
just the simplest gesture:
pulling some weeds
or stirring the embers

because love is much brighter
than thoughts and emotion
to fight for the fire
is the truest devotion

The Power of Listening

photo courtesy of Justice For All

 

By Tuesday afternoon, I was ready to go home, but we still had a few more hours of outreach at The University of Kansas (KU). I wasn’t motivated to seek out a conversation, so God met me in my weakness and sent me Daniel…

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free to love

a mother’s love
doesn’t just flow from a mama to her biological child
sometimes a mother’s love
flows from a single girl
to a child whose mama can’t hold her today

a brother’s love
isn’t limited to those who share genetics
sometimes a brother’s love
is strongest between those
who share a Heavenly Father

a friend’s love
shouldn’t be confined to relationships that have been proven
sometimes a friend’s love
must be extended to one
I’ve just met

for the mothers without children in their arms

{originally published on Heavenly Princess}

When a mother loses a child – through abortion, miscarriage, foster care, or something else – the pain is real…and lasting. My heart goes out to those mothers today.

I’m a mother too
No one knows
And the people who once knew have forgotten
Maybe they think I want them to forget
Maybe they think I’ve forgotten
Maybe I want to
But I can’t
How can a mother forget her child?

I remember
When I see a child the age of the one I don’t have
When I wake in the night and my baby isn’t there
When I least expect it
I remember

I am not alone
We are among you
Hiding in plain sight
Beside you in the classroom
Behind you in church
Before you at work

If you know one of us
If you haven’t forgotten
But think we have
Know that we haven’t
And please
Let us know you haven’t either
Because we are mothers too