Simple & Slow Fridays: Surrender

I wish I could copy this whole chapter from Mitten Strings for God. As a mom, for me, every day is about surrender. I must surrender my wants for the needs of my family. Just becoming a mom is a huge process of surrendering ... at least it was for me. I had no idea what it meant to take care of someone else, but this is for a future post. Let me recap some of the passages from the book:

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a meditation teacher who writes about mindful parenting, suggests that we think of our children as Zen masters housed in small bodies, who come into our lives to push at all of our fixed ideas. They are our best teachers, he says, and one way or another they will teach us whatever hard lessons we most need to learn. (p. 87)

This is one thing motherhood has taught me: Living according to my values does not necessarily mean being rigid in my convictions about what's "right". Sometimes our children's needs do not coincide neatly with our own beliefs. And therein lies a challenge. Do I try to control every aspect of our family environment, or do I allow others to help shape it, too? Do I always enforce the rules or do I sometimes step aside and trust my children to find their own way? Surrendering is always an act of faith, and letting go is never easy. (p 88)

When we try to hold on tight to anything, we find ourselves grasping at air; when we struggle to possess - a person, a time, a way of doing or being - the very thing we seek slips away. So it is with my most treasured rituals. The moment I try to carve them in stone or to institutionalize them in any way, they seem to vanish before my eyes. Then, rather than try to force the family back into old vessels that no longer fit, I must shape new ones. As soon as something fails to work for us, it is time to let go and create something fresh. This kind of surrender is not easy, either - but necessary if we are to continue growing together as a family. (p 89)

In surrender, I clear a space in which
something new can grow. I place my faith
in something larger than me. I trust.
(p. 92)

How's that for some things to ponder?! :) Come back Friday and post about how you surrender. This week, post about one-on-one time.