Parenting is a spiritual discipline through which I have been drawn most closely to the Holy One.  Becoming a parent was an intentional choice that we celebrated.  I simply had no idea how powerfully my children would form my spirit, shape my growth, and reveal the Divine to me.  My daughters need me every day and deserve the very best I have to give.   It is for their futures that I am more deeply committed to work for a better, more peaceful world.  For their sakes I choose my language about people, G-d, justice, right and wrong, love, care, power, responsibility and respect very carefully.  Like many parents these days, Simon and I have not discovered an optimal balance between vocation and family; we share childcare full time and each work full time.  I need to share Sabbath renewal with my family.   

Reflecting on how being a parent and family member, shapes my spirituality, faith commitments and worship experiences is a spiritual discipline. Most books that I see about faith and parenting are about spiritual formation of children – how to raise faithful kids. It has become clear that parenting has profoundly shaped me by what my children have taught me, transformed by the vital accountability in which they hold me, lifted up by their wonder and joy at discovering their place in G-d’s world.