Each week, someone from the meeting offers a "First Word." The speaker takes 3-5 minutes to reflect on his or her spiritual journey. Please email us your comments and questions!

Kara brought this First Word to the meeting on June 14, 2009.

The New Mom

First Word Files / Archive / WHF

- I am going to be a parent.

- Someone's parent -- for real! This must be a joke.

- I'm not ready.

- Okay... now I'm ready.

- Here comes baby - why am I on my back in bed? Isn't this why I didn't want to do this in the hospital?

- God has a sense of humor.

- OKay, baby's here... now what?

- Feed him, clean him, love him - check, check and check.

- Not easy.

- Why is this so hard?

- That mother looks like she's got it together. That one has two! Three! Wow.

- Now I am working - why am I working?

- Right - have to eat, pay bills. Hate that -- no, wait. Love eating. Hate paying the bills. Right.

- Wonder if Noah ate yet - call David

- Did he eat? How much?

- Does he miss me? How would I tell if he did? He seems happy. That makes me sad. Which makes me feel guilty.

- Wonder if he pooped yet. Call David. No poop yet - all day thinking about Noah - poop - home - baby. No work done.

- Why am I obsessing about poop?

- Think about something else.

- First Word - Oh no! What to say for First Word?

- Don't talk about poop.

- Oops - too late. No time to write another - baby's hungry, dirty, cranky.

- Wait - missing the point - where is God in this?

- Oh right - God's in everything - all of it; random thoughts

... at work, at home,

... in isolation, in self-consciousness, in separation anxiety,

... in poop obsession, in random thoughts

... in doubts, in Noah's face, in David's embrace

... in my First Word, strange as it was

- Encouraging me to turn off this constant chatter in my head, be quiet, and listen.