I was raised in a religious family so religion was always a part of my life. But I never really embraced my faith in a meaningful way until I had children.

After the birth of my first child it was like a light when on. I don’t know if it was the emotion of holding her or just the mere thought that we, my husband and I, had a “part” to play in the creation of this amazing little girl. All I knew was that there was unquantifiable joy in our life and its root definitely wasn’t material…it was something far more meaningful and so very much a part of God’s plan.

Seventeen years later and my experience as a first time mother still has me in awe. But not simply in awe of my own children, but in awe of the way all people are connected in our thoughts, experiences and in our capacity to love and care for one another. Of course there is tremendous sorrow and horrific acts in our world every day. But the spiritual nature of every day life occurrences reinforces my faith that through it all we still have a purpose and a uniqueness to acknowledge. We are, every one of us, created in the image of God and we have only to accept that gift then lead our lives as stewards of this world, warts and all.

As mothers I think we have an acute awareness of how special life is and how important it is to drink in and appreciate every moment and to make whatever positive impact we can on our children, our partners, our families and our communities.