Let It Be

So much of parenthood is invisible. No one sees all the blood, sweat and tears that happen behind the scenes as we tend to our families. With a passion fueled by love, we show up day and night at a job that is never completed.  And no matter how old our kids are, we never stop worrying.

My heart ached for my daughter as she moved through the pain of divorce, and for my son-in-law, who courageously lives each day with brain cancer and the haunt of uncertainty.  My son and his wife are anxiously awaiting the birth of their daughter, while remembering the desolation and grief they suffered at the agonizing loss of their stillborn son. All these things are just too big for me to hold.   

Whenever I notice myself worrying about things I cannot change, I have begun to practice simply praying “amen” and releasing my burdens to God. “Amen” literally means, “So be it” or “Let it be,” and is the one word that ends every prayer, trusting that nothing more needs to be said. Imagining before me two outstretched hands, palms up, and hands that come together as if cupping falling water, I visualize laying my worries into the hands of God.  From the radical stance of praying “amen,” no matter how many times during the day, I feel lighter and more able to surrender and let everything be, just as it is, in God.