Liturgy On Having A Second Child.

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Hello friends.

Recently my lovely wife put on a lovely baby shower for our lovely friend. One of the things done at our local church, specifically regarding baby showers, is to read a liturgy.

Typically it’s the classic, “liturgy for changing diapers.” That is an instant banger. But Shiloh wanted to do something different.

She looked for one regarding “second born” but found nothing that stuck. She asked me for help. I asked if she wanted me to try writing one. She said yes.

So I sat outside for about thirty minutes. Nice Florida breeze, a touch of grey to the clouds. And I wrote this little beauty. Hope you enjoy:

Oh God, our Creator,

We thank you for the encore of creation.

Life begets life begets life,

and we receive now the blessing of a second child.

Oh Father, be our peace.

When the cries become two,

and the needs multiply,

multiply also our patience,

our gentleness,

our awe.

as the groaning doubles,

let the incomparable joy double also.

When it feels repetitive,

teach us to see beauty in the repetition.

For no two cries are the same,

no two children share the same soul.

Help us find newness in the rhyme

as we change diapers once again,

as we enter sleepless nights once more.

And when we find ourselves pacing at 3 a.m.,

wanting to weep like the child in our arms,

be the one who carries us,

the one who lulls us to rest.

Oh Christ, be our assurance.

Remind us that these small things

hold universes of grandeur.

That you will be the giver of strength

when both our hands are demanded to be held.

Let the firstborn be a friend,

a big sibling to the second.

Let them delight in one another

as they grow and age.

When we fade and are gone,

let them remain for each other.

Let them be tethered in love,

as you have tethered yourself to us.

May our oldest wipe away their younger siblings tears

and kiss the wounds from busted knees,

as you do for us.

And may this second child

teach our firstborn how to be challenged,

how to be humbled,

how to be emptied,

as you emptied yourself for us.

Oh Christ, be with us in the ordinary.

Be the strength in our handholds,

the warmth within our bear hugs,

the hero of our storybooks,

and the laughter in our playtime.

Oh Spirit, be our wisdom.

When our own emotions pull toward rage,

blindness,

or apathy,

rescue us from our own undoing.

As our firstborn has revealed so much of our sin,

let our secondborn reveal even more—

and meet us there with grace.

Form our children’s hearts.

Soften them to your voice.

Let laughter come easily to them.

Let wonder find them often.

Let love root deeply.

And in the years to come,

when we look back on these days

that felt so long and yet so fleeting,

let us see not only what was hard,

but what was holy.

Oh God, Three in One,

as you are held together in love,

so form our family.

Amen.