Blessing in the Chaos
To all that is chaotic in you,
let there come silence.
Let there be a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling of the voices that
have laid their claim on you,
that have made their home in you,
that go with you even to the
holy places but will not
let you rest, will not let you
hear your life with wholeness
or feel the grace that fashioned you.
Let what distracts you cease.
Let what divides you cease.
Let there come an end
to what diminishes and demeans,
and let depart all that keeps you
in it's cage. Let there be
an opening into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos, where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.
-Jan Richardson
This week, as part of my Playful Project, I started a series of Motherhood Portraits. This is a body of work that has been brewing in my heart since the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child in 2016. I often describe motherhood as "my favorite part of my human experience". Becoming a mother has shaped me so much over the last 7 years and I'm so grateful for it. That being said, there are dark corners of motherhood that sometimes rarely even get discussed or mentioned. It's in revisiting and exploring these "corners" of motherhood that compose the theme of this series.
I am currently working from a collection of photos of myself and incorporating shapes and imagery drawn by myself and my children along the borders of each piece. This imagery is symbolic of this time period of my life as a young mother. I can't wait to share more from this series with you.