Her Goddess Mother

I was supposed to be her godmother, the first girl-child in our family in 27 years.  It was an honor.  The catch was that I would have to promise to do that inside the lines of a tradition that did not celebrate the spirit, confidence, self-esteem, and imagination of this beautiful little girl-child and the woman she would become.  And I could not promise this…  I could not limit myself to one tradition, especially a tradition that did not honor and celebrate a divine mother, the sacred feminine, in addition to a sacred masculine; one that does not teach its girl children that the divine image they are created in is a SHE like they are; that She and they are beautiful, amazing, and good; that everything about their human girl bodies is good and beautiful and sacred; that all of nature has cycles and seasons like they do.  Once knowledge and awareness are acquired, there’s no going back to ‘not knowing.’
I disappointed my sister.  It was one of the hardest things to do.  I loved her, and I don’t think she understood because she was still comfortable inside her tradition’s parameters.  It still worked for her.
So on the ‘official record,’ someone else took my place.  And I made my own commitment:  I committed to being that little girl’s goddess mother, and I would (and will, have, and do) share girl-child-celebrating wisdom and lessons of spirit, earth, and light along the way.  She will decide for herself, and follow her own path, and I will celebrate her growing.  Her first gift from me on the day of her baptism, though–as her goddess mother and aunt–was The Twelve Gifts of Birth.  And every year since, she (and her brother) have been gifted with beautiful stones with these gifts imprinted on them…to remind them.
Laura put the book and the stones in a box to save for when these two were older.  This year, I’ll be asking about the book and the box and bringing out the stones.  And I’ll be listening and present as we talk about words and gifts.