“We don’t talk about how hard it must have been to do something for the first time. No guides. No mentors. No mommy blogs with tried and true strategies for maintaining sanity. It’s easy to knock down the forerunners of human living who made mistakes...it’s harder to see through the one-dimensional religious narratives that every mom has the unbelievably challenging task of raising children the best she can.”

—Scott Erickson, Honest Advent

The word for today is "motherhood." As you consider the gifts and challenges of your relationship to the mothers in your life, think about where you feel gratitude and where you feel pain. What connection do they have to these early days of Advent? How does your relationship with your mother shape your understanding of motherhood as it is represented in the stories of Eve and Mary? How can you share these feelings with God?

Image used with permission from the artist, Scott Erickson.

Contact Rachel Wright, Director of Communications, with questions or concerns about these daily Advent devotionals.