Parents are the foundation of the family unit.
So much love and burden is placed upon them as they try their best to fulfill their vocational call to shepherd their children through difficult developmental stages,
To teach them,
To witness values to them,
And above all,
To love them.
Parents live in a tension of joy and burden.
They hear many voices of criticism and expectations from society,
From friend groups,
From their own parents,
And even from themselves.
Yet raising children has great rewards of seeing a child grow and become themselves,
Of deepening bonds,
And even self-growth as our children hold a mirror to us.
Let us begin this meditation sitting with this reality,
This tension,
In the presence of God as God gazes upon you with the love of a parent.
I reflect now on my parental vocation in general.
How do I see myself as a parent?
Up to this life,
Up for the job.
How do I see myself as a parent?
First I examine the challenges of parenting,
Specifically things I see in myself,
Ways I respond to my children unlovingly,
Times of impatience or anger,
Baggage I bring from my own relationship with my parents.
I let the difficulties of parenting swirl in my memory.
How do I see myself as a parent?
Now,
I look at my children and see how they are.
How they are gifts.
I imagine their faces.
Where do I see God in them?
What joys do they bring me?
How do they make me a better person?
How do I see myself as a parent?
How am I a witness to God's love?
How do I make God's love palpable for my children?
How do I see myself as a parent?
As I examine my role as a parent and my relationship with my children,
Where am I being called to grow?
How do I see myself as a parent?
How do I see myself as a parent?
May all your life be a prayer,
A holy kiss atop sticky foreheads and matted curls.
May all your life be a prayer,
Learning each day afresh what it is to see God in you and God in your neighbor.
May all your life be a prayer,
An offering of presence and peace poured out and replenished between parent and child.
May all your life,
Your fantastic,
Dirty,
Messy,
Holy life be a prayer.
