L.O.V.E.

 (Wikipedia Commons)

This weekend I attended a women's retreat at my parish.  The speaker was Sonja Corbitt, author of several books including Unleashed, Fearless, and Ignite.  She was a very down to earth speaker but also very passionate about helping women break the destructive sin patterns in their lives and also love Scripture.  She came up with her own version of Lectio Divina which I think is well suited to being a mom.  It is called L.O.V.E.  The acronym stands for Listen, Observe, Verbalize and Entrust.  She suggests reading the daily Gospel reading first thing in the morning and following the LOVE method for just 5 minutes.  As you continue this practice, you can increase the amount of time.  Even busy nursing moms have 5 minutes to spare.  At first, you may not hear God's whisper but if you stay committed to this prayer time, eventually you will.

Yesterday's Gospel reading is the perfect Scripture reading with which to start, because it mentions Jesus having been breastfed by Mary and also the importance of reading/listening to God's Word.  Here it is:

Luke 11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed."  He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." (taken from usccb.org)

Try to find a quiet spot before your baby or toddler wakes in the morning. Ask God to speak to you.

Then LISTEN to God's Word.  Read the verses slowly and think about them.

OBSERVE.  Think about what it means to you or what God might be telling you in these verses.  What is happening in your life right now that might tie into the Scripture reading?  Think about all the patterns in your life - the good and the bad.

VERBALIZE.  Tell God what you think he is trying to to say to you in these verses.  Ask Him if you are right.  Possibly write it down.

ENTRUST.  Trust in God and in rest in His peace.

Comments

  1. I think the LOVE concept works well for attachment parenting too (with maybe a modification to “efficively communicate” for verbalize since not every child learns best through language). Those are also great tools for ecological breastfeeding, because you have to be able to listen to your child and observe even the most subtle clues they want to nurse, then respond and trust in God’s plan even through the difficulties of nursing.

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