Dear Ones,

This coming Sunday will be my last day before I go on maternity leave.  I find myself filled with gratitude for the two and half months I have had with this faith community and the blessing that maternity leave will bring to my family, my body, and my being.  When I was pregnant with Cascade I was still going into work three days past my due date and an hour away from my hospital.  This is pretty normalized in the United States, but looking back and knowing how my labor went this was not the best way to care for myself or my child.  Knowing with this second birth that I can be near my hospital, rest my body, and prepare for this new life to enter the world over the next week or two feels like such a gift for this transition that is about to take place.  I cannot wait for baby boy to get here and for you all to love on him the way you care for each other so well.

I will miss being with you all, seeing your lovely faces, checking in about your lives and supporting all the ministries that St. Columba’s participates in.  I will continue to pray for the life of this community and the people who make it up.  And know that I am looking forward to joining you once again at the beginning of July.  I will know the exact date of my return once the baby arrives.

Let us all continue in the good work of ushering in new life.  Let us be open to being surprised by the joy, exhaustion, and surprise it can bring.  I am holding hope for this next season for my family and for St. Columba’s.  I look forward to my return when we can continue to work out what this faith, hope, and love thing looks like together.

Blessings,

Meghan