Every time someone showed up for me, I learned that love is greater than skin deep.

We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.

I was a foster parent long before I was a mom, and an inside look at families "in the system" reveals pretty quickly that love and parenthood are two different qualities, and the relationship between them is neither straightforward nor guaranteed....

What, exactly, are we doing when we invite love into our lives? Surely we know that it's much tidier without it, when things stay at a distance.

For all the mothers and mother figures The grandmothers, aunts, and extended family members who mother The soon-to-be mothers, the wish-they-were mothers, the never-wanted-to-be mothers, the “it’s complicated” mothers The birth mothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers The “used...

Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....

Based on Dedications led by the Revs Janne and Rob Eller-Isaacs, Unity Church-Unitarian, St. Paul, MN Let us enter into a space of dedication and hope, of promise and love, as we bless these young members of our community. I invite (children and caretakers) to the chancel. (Children’s names), by...

Let us tell the stories of mothers… stories that could be true. Let us tell of warm mothers, soft and round, likely to be found with flour on their nose, and always ready to pour you a glass of milk to go with the cookies on your plate. These mothers are increasingly rare. Let us tell of mothers...

Today is Father's Day, a day in which we honor and offer gratitude for our fathers, in whatever form or fashion they come into our lives—biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, spiritual fathers, and all of the uncles, brothers, and friends who, whether they...

Spirit of Life, Today, the advertising tells us what to buy for mom, instead help us listen to and honor the deeper voices. Today, let us honor all of those who have made this world possible for us. Those who did the hard work of building a better world for future generations. Today, let us honor...

When my youngest daughter was about two years old she came across a tattered paperback on our bookshelves, Ten Thousand Baby Names, and for a little while this was her favorite book. Drawn by the shining face of the baby on the cover, she brought it to me over and over and demanded that I read...

Holidays are complicated, especially the ones named after roles. Human relationships are messy, including relationships with people who are honored by holidays. For a lot of people, Father’s Day brings up feelings of grief for fathers who were lost, or who couldn’t be there, or who chose not to...

Forgive me dear father For all the trouble I caused The missed curfews The missed classes Your unfulfilled dreams for me Forgive me dear father But your dreams are not my dreams Forgive me dear father And I will forgive you For missed moments That you sacrificed So that one day I could follow my...

For sleepless nights awaiting the curfew-breakers For anxious hours as a driving instructor For hours spent on sidelines, cheering And watching school plays, sometimes “resting our eyes,” For the pressures of bread-winning And “wait ‘til your father gets home.” For teaching moments and...

My friend Sue has a son with autism who is now 19 years old. When Adam was younger (8–13) and when they would go to the grocery store, he would inevitably make a scene because he would want his parents to buy something he couldn’t have. This would be no ordinary scene of power play and wielding...

Jefferson Unitarian Church Golden, CO Mothers Day, May 13, 2007 Three weeks ago my wife, Phyllis, and I participated in our all church social action weekend. What a magical day that was! We chose to help out building the new community garden at 32nd Avenue just this side of I-70....

Receive, O Mystery, the words of our hearts. If prayer worked like magic—if I knew the words that would guarantee prayer's power—I know what I would pray: Let life be always kind to our children. Let sorrow not touch them. Let them be free from fear. Let them never suffer injustice, nor the...

On Mother's Day, one expects to read about the wonder and glory of motherhood....

Let us praise those fathers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice. Let us praise those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become a good father. Let us praise those fathers who by their...