“ i thank You God for most this amazing
/ day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees / and a blue true
dream of sky;and for everything / which is natural which is infinite
which is yes”
- e.e. cummings
May you enter beautifully into the feminine,
Learning to trust the world of feeling you inherit,
Finding ease and elegance in all you are.
May your respect for your beauty
Become visible in your dignity
And how you hold yourself in the world.
May the expectation in other eyes
Never decide how you are to be;
Learn to trust the advice of your heart.
May you feel life as an irresistible invitation
To discover and develop your talents,
Each day bringing something new to birth.
May you have friends who can see you.
May your senses be windows of wonder
And your mind a prism of spirit.
-John O Donahue
"At the Threshold of Womanhood" in To Bless the Space Between Us
we are all born / so beautiful / the greatest tragedy is / being convinced we are not “
- Rupi Kaur, milk and honey (2015)
Arise,
shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
-
Isaiah 60:1
“I’ll eat you
up. I love you so.” -Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are
“All you need is love.” – The Beatles
a prayer I patched together for the night before Anna left for college:
Gracious God, Thank you for giving Anna deep roots, and thank you for giving
her wings. Prepare Anna’s heart to revel in new exploration of new
communities, new cities, new ideas, new classes, and of landscapes less familiar. Along the way, may she pause to savor the way your diverse
imagination is expressed in the beauty around her, and in an artistry of
peoples and cultures. Waken her vision and rouse her heart that she might be shaped by
those whisperings of your goodness and grace all around her. Let her play, let her laugh, let her to find rich community. Keep her safe from injury and harm and make her a blessing to
all she meets in college. Guide her as she goes to Scripps, be her refuge, be her shade in
the heat, be her shelter in the storm, be her rest in weariness, be her
protection in trouble, and be her strong staff in danger. For all our days together, we give you thanks. Bind us together now, even though we will be apart. May your peace rest upon us and upon Anna as she goes.
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Anna, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord’s face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.May the Lord look upon you with kindness, and give you peace. Go out into the world to celebrate! Celebrate a new way of
living while remembering the very best that you have been taught! Celebrate going off to college and the independence that comes
with it knowing that with that independence comes responsibility. Celebrate new friends while remembering those to whom you have
said goodbye. And as you go, remember that God is with you and God loves you
with His Never-Stopping,
Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. “The Lord our God is with you. He is
mighty to save. The Lord will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with
His love and rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Go in peace!
Our friends Fredrik and Byron surprised me last week by asking me to be on their podcast to talk about parenting, and it was so delightful to just sit around the table and talk with them as they are two of my favorite people. It was also sweet timing as it was just under a week before we took Anna to college, so it was a gift to look back and take time to remember and reflect on some stories over the past 18 years of parenting.
If you are looking for something to listen to while you are doing the dishes or running some errands, I invite you to take a listen to pass the time. Byron and Fredrick are the most wonderful hosts and ask some really wise and thoughtful questions.
