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Another autumn is enveloping us. The temperature is softening. Students are leveling up and the leaves are starting to restyle. Change is in the air, again. Again we grow into new responsibilities and again we prepare for the old traditions of savoring this precious life together. In cherishing these moments that so quickly pass, again we wonder at the mystery of time.
Last month we shared a mom's poem from a few years back when her son turned 13. Now we hear from her again with the one she wrote this year that her daughter has become a teenager.
As a nod to the change of seasons, the poems are an evocative peek into a particular transition in time, repeated across time. It's at once unique and universal. It's one woman, her particular role, and two particular experiences with two different children. It's also about a quintessential rite of passage, revealing how humans struggle in change and pointing to how we can faithfully see our way through.
13, again
13-year-old girls, I swear!
They are so powerful
And so beautiful,
And they have no idea.
They just walk around,
Half-grown miracles
Rolling their eyes.
Full of insecurities.
Full of potential.
Be brave, my dears!
You are about to take this world
By storm.
Last month's poem was paired with Hannah's prayer. It pointed to the way, when overwhelmed, we put our full trust in God. This poem is paired with a psalmist's praise! Hear these words from Psalm 139:13-15:
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
The beauty of women shines bright early in our lives. God loves God’s female form and created us in HER image. Let’s celebrate our daughters for they are like us, wonderfully made. And as our daughters make their way in this world, guiding them in growth grows us. This wonderful, hard work of change prepares us both—women and girls, mentors and mentees—leading us to more bravery in being evidence not just of God's image, but of God's powerful love too.
Our poet is Amy C. Ziehm who lives and works in the Washington, DC area. She is a member and Deacon of the Arlington Church of the Brethren. Amy is an avid quilter and the mother of two teenagers.
Suzanne Ayer Lay with special thanks to Amy, Cyneatha and Nancy
MW USA Communications Director
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