Moms Group

A friend of mine and I recently started a Moms Group at our church. I thought some of you might like to experience it, too (virtually).

We had our first meeting at “Grace Evangelical Covenant Church”:http://gracechurchchicago.org/ last Friday morning. I brought some low-fat banana cake, which was dry, frosted with a lovely high-fat caramel glaze (so I guess on average it was medium-fat). We had fruit and tea and coffee — and childcare! And time to talk about life and mothering and God.

I recently read a “fabulous article”:http://plumbingdemons.blogspot.com/2009/09/spiritual-formation-for-those-beset-by_29.html by a colleague of mine on the topic of motherhood and spirituality. I love the way Kathy honestly acknowledges the challenges we face regarding regular spiritual disciplines, and I think she offers some great, grace-filled suggestions — one of which we took a closer look at together.

I led the group through the “Examen,” which is one of my favorite spiritual disciplines these days. I recently had an “article about this ancient practice”:http://www.intervarsity.org/gfm/well/resource/examen published that gives a straightforward introduction of the process. I love how God uses the Examen to help me see how my whole life, with all of its seemingly disparate parts, mesh together under his loving care. I use this “quirky method of journaling”:http://annagram.org/extras/journaling.html each night to help me sort through my day and bring it before God.

We spent about ten minutes reflecting on the Examen individually, and then we discussed our meditations together. I was grateful for a chance to talk about my recent struggles in parenting a two-year-old, and I appreciated the perspective of some more experienced moms.

What I loved most about this forum was that it wasn’t a place to vent, or even a place to get advice (although some of those things happened, too). Our focus was more on the question, “How is this experience shaping you spiritually? And what is God’s invitation to you through this experience?” That is the question I really want to think about these days.

We’re really looking forward to our next meeting on May 14 — 9:30-11:00 am, second Friday of each month. Maybe we’ll see some of you there!