February 23, 2011 4:02 PM
A family blessing - small change, big rewards
A MommyLife golden oldie:
As a mom, I know the feeling of being overwhelmed by all the things I want to do better. Sometimes looking at the big picture can be paralyzing - you just don't know where to start. My advice is to just try making small changes here and there.When it comes to your child's development and family life, small changes can have a huge impact. And they have a tendency to lead to other changes.
Which leads me to share with you this very small addition you might want to consider making in your day. Some of you may already do this - if so, please speak up and tell us if you've found it beneficial.
Around 20 years ago I began giving my children a blessing each morning, taking their face in my hands and looking into their eyes. Now that they're older and scattered, I do it when I hug them goodbye:
Calligraphy by Michael Noyes.
This is a Judeo-Christian blessing from the Bible - Numbers 6:24-26. I got the idea from Gary Smalley's The Blessing, which is available in a new edition, or the original edition
at Amazon for just one cent plus postage. PaperbackSwap has a couple of copies available too.
I really want to encourage you to consider making blessing your children a tradition in your family too. Things like these help when your children are older to reconnect on that fundamental level. Not to mention the spiritual benefit of a daily blessing.And please know that in my heart I am praying the same blessing for you.
Posted in Mothering, Spiritual education | Permalink
Comments
We use a blessing from Shane Claiborne's Common Prayer book. It has come to be a precious and important part of our day. I like to think about my four sons coming home to be blessed again, after they grow up and have homes of their own.
"May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you;
May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm;
May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you;
May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors."
Posted by: Amy R. | February 23, 2011 4:55 PM
Beautiful way to start the day. The first thing that comes to mind is the John Rutter song version-one of our family's favorites. :-)
Posted by: Anna | February 24, 2011 6:06 AM
Our family does a bedtime blessing -- "God bless my [child's name], give her/him a good night's sleep, with no bad dreams, and may God's Holy Spirit rest upon him/her and give him/her strength and peace and [ courage, foresight -- different for each child,]all the days of her/his life. In Jesus' Name, Amen." My husband started doing this for each child at birth, and I have lovely memories of waiting to hear what the special characteristic for each newborn would be. Our six are all adults now, but if they are visiting dad still gives them their blessing, and emails have been known to end "Love and LDB" (for "long distance blessing".) This has been a very precious part of our family life.
Posted by: Salome Ellen | February 24, 2011 7:36 AM
