Still, Slow, Stoke, Save My Anger

Still, Slow, Stoke, Save My Anger

Still my anger, Lord over milk spilled toothpaste wasted urine everywhere but the toilet Slow my anger, Lord when I am constantly interrupted my plans are thwarted my children misbehave and I feel embarrassed when I go without sleep without food without a moment of quiet Stoke my anger, Lord when children go without food,…

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Confessions of an Angry Mom

anger in motherhood

A little hand reaches up to the counter, and papers flutter to the floor. While I restack them, a chair is pushed over. Maybe even a plant. Something in me starts to tighten and grow, a tense little ball of fire. Words spill out, but they are useless; they clink to the floor. My preschooler…

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It’s Fine. Everything’s Fine. (Except I Lit the Fire.)

mother anger

Have you seen the meme of the dog sipping coffee amongst the flames? The one where he says “It’s fine. Everything’s fine”? Most days I am that dog, sitting calmly through the chaos. And yet, I also lit the fire. My anger frightens me. It lies dormant beneath a peaceful exterior, surprising everybody, including me,…

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Love That Overcomes Darkness

neurodivergent parenting

In the Chinese language, the word for good is made up of two parts: the word for feminine and the word for son or child. I am considered thoroughly lucky and blessed to have borne a daughter, followed five and a half years later by a plucky son. 好 It is good. It was good,…

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Prayers for the Hard Days of Parenting

hard days of parenting prayers

Angry? Frustrated? Stressed out? We’ve been there. We’ve prayed through it, too. Here are a few words for when you feel like you’re going to lose it as a parent. 1. Breath prayers Inhale: Breathe in peace (love, hope, joy).Exhale: Breathe out fear (anger, grief, stress). Inhale: You are with me, God.Exhale: I am not…

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Shadow Revelations

mother anger

Everything felt heavy. My eyelids, the child in my arms, the unrelenting stretch of time before dinner.  I lugged my son over to the swing set, managing to convince him that this would be an acceptable next step in our park experience. I stood behind him and pushed, the effort demanding the last dregs of…

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Anger & Forgiveness: Your Turn

anger & forgiveness

This Week on Mothering Spirit Jess’ essay speaks truth about the anger buried within motherhood. Kimberly’s prayer (in both English and Spanish) asks for the grace of forgiveness. Our big news: we’ve just announced our first virtual retreat! Sing A New Song: A Birth Story Retreat will come to you in the comfort of your home on…

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For Days When We Get It All Wrong

prayer for anger

God, there are days when I get this all so wrong. I lose my patience, I yell, I cry. I just don’t have the control I wish I had. Not over them, but over myself. I tell myself, “they’re just kids!” And then I battle with the patience I was never shown. I tell myself,…

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The Rising Fire Within Us

mother anger

It wasn’t only in the dark, when the lights were out and my thoughts had a tendency to expand and disparage themselves. It wasn’t only when the baby needed nursing at 2:00 a.m. and the street lights shone brightly across the street over our neighbor’s silver maple. It wasn’t only when I had to repeat…

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i sing it for you

I sing it for you

I roared at them tonight. And when I say roared, I mean bellowed from the very core of my being – the tired, angry, frustrated, exasperated, unheard and unnoticed depths of my body and soul, from which I was completely and utterly and maddeningly sick of having asked, cajoled, coaxed, pleaded, begged, demanded, and commanded them…

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A Mother’s Prayer for Ash Wednesday

parent prayer Ash Wednesday

God of Ash Wednesday, whose hands first gathered dust to create us, whose Spirit breathed new life into brittle bones, whose fingers traced the sand to save a sinner, take the dirt of my life— the tempers lost, the doors slammed, the complaints muttered, the harsh words thrown, the dark doubts seethed— take all these…

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on bad moods and breaking bread

It started off as a lovely morning. Until. Isn’t that the way it always goes? Until the baby smeared yogurt all over his third outfit of the morning. Until the preschooler dawdled away all our free minutes pushing strawberries around his plate. Until one child cried for help getting shoes on the right feet while the…

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