Showers of Blessings

We have a tradition at our church called "Showers of Blessing". It is a time when the ladies of our church get together to celebrate the new moms, those ladies who have added to their family through natural childbirth or by adoption. We include any lady who has had a child since our last shower and any who are currently pregnant. It gives the new moms, especially the first time moms, a chance to get to know other women who have children the same age and also the older ladies who are there to support them.

We have a fun time preparing, all the ladies of the church give money to buy gifts and several of us go shopping. We buy diapers, baby food, blankets, towels, bibs, a list of babysitters, some toys and a colorful bin to put it all in. Adopted children usually are older and so get gifts appropriate for their age. We celebrate with food of course, cakes...one for the boys and one for the girls along with various party trays. We keep the program simple, introductions of the new moms, the reading of a children's book, perhaps a DVD or skit that either encourages the moms or makes them laugh. We play a fun game where each new mom brings her own baby picture, then the ladies figure our which mom goes with each baby picture.

Titus encourages older women to train the younger women how to be good wives and mothers and to treat those outside the family well. But our society which encourages independence and a do-it-yourself attitude undermines the fulfilling of that scripture.

I remember being an independent mom, I didn't ask for help unless I was desperate. I felt that asking for help meant I wasn't a good mom. I never thought another woman wasn't a good mom if she asked for help...so why did I feel that way about myself? Whatever my reasons, pride, self-approval, comparison or stupidity, I don't want other moms to go through the same thing. I want them to be free to ask for help, knowing they won't be judged for asking...just understanding that we care what happens to them and their children.

A mom who has been through the joys, trials and experience of raising a child to adulthood has a lot to offer a new mom. We can listen to their struggles, empathize with their frustration and give them a perspective outside their experience. We can offer help, babysitting for a date night, an adult to talk to, an afternoon of rest...

Beyond offering help to young moms, there is a blessing that comes when women of all ages come together when we decide to support one another instead of comparing and cutting one another down. We can laugh and cry together. We can share our joys and trials. We can offer help and support to one another. We can be the community that God had planned for us, sharing our hopes and dreams as well as our tears and frustrations, living a life that encourages one another and honors God, revealing the love of Christ that He has placed in our hearts.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 NIV