Sunday Daily Prayer

May 10, 2020

Oh God, to you who have adopted us into your family and call us sons and daughters, we lift up our hearts to you, filled with gratitude and filled with grief.  For the new mothers in our church who rock brand new babies full of untested potential…for seasoned mothers who have moved from gentle rocking to mending skinned knees, or homework help, or dating drama, or college selection, or the empty nest…for long-time mothers who watch their children as adults, still praying for their wisdom and wholeness with unfaltering passion…for so much love that we can barely comprehend its goodness, we give you thanks.

For the single mother who innovates and perseveres to daily be a multi-faceted super-hero, we stand in awe of her and you. 

For the mother that loved so beautifully, that we still grieve her death days, weeks, years, and even decades after our last memories, especially on a day like today when we’d love nothing more than to have one more memory, we give you thanks for a taste of you.

For all of the mothers who nurture us without having biological ties to us—to those women who step into the many places where they can invest in our lives by supporting us, mothering us, growing us into wholeness—thanks be to God.

For the women who ache for motherhood—who long for a child in their wombs and arms—Oh God of hope and promises, gather them in your arms.

For the mothers who lost their babies before knowing them—who endured joy ended by miscarriage—Oh God who remembers, gather then in your arms. 

For the women who have had to say goodbye to their children long before anyone should—who held their babies for minutes or years—Oh God of comfort, gather them in your arms. 

For the children who grieve mothers who chose to not be—who endured abuse or neglect rather than pure love—Oh God of refuge, gather them in your arms. 

For every mother and every child that finds today to be one of trial or pain, Oh God of compassion, gather them in your arms.

For you, oh God, who shelters us in your wings like a mother hen, who cannot turn away from your children, who nurtures and nurses us, you promise to hold us close in your arms as we ache, and you have given us glimpses of love that take our breath away.  Gather us in your arms as we give you our gratitude. Amen.

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Submitted by:
Shelley Woodruff, Pastor for Community Engagement, First Baptist Decatur