How My Spiritual Discipline Has Changed with Motherhood

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Marriage and bringing Baby home have been the two most exciting adventures of my life thus far, but they have also been the most transitional events. Gone are the days when I would plan out my day and follow that plan with ease.

These days, I make small goals for each day and set personal deadlines for bigger goals by the week. Inevitably, my daily to-do list will have boxes left unchecked at the end of each day and responsibilities that will carry over into the next day.

I do not include dishes, laundry, or cooking on the daily to-do lists because they are crucial chores to our household running smoothly…and they are also never-ending. There is no way to check those items off the list.

My Prayer Life

Like the never-ending chores that are crucial to our household running smoothly, prayer is never finished and it is crucial to my well-being. However, much like my days of completed daily to-do lists are gone and I’ve changed my expectations, my prayer life has had to change as well.

Consistent, structured prayer time has been replaced with more fluid and flexible prayer.

Now, many of my prayers are inspired by objects or tasks that remind me of friends and family members. As I go about my day, I can look around our house and see all the people for whom I can pray.

  • The ironing board my grandparents gifted us…not that we iron often, but the ironing board lives in our laundry room, and we do laundry constantly. Thus, I pray for my grandparents regularly.
  • The vacuum Mark and Lisa gifted us. I cannot vacuum without thinking of and praying for them, and I wouldn’t want to. It has been 2.5 years that I’ve been praying for them each time I vacuum, and I cannot imagine a time in my life – even when the day comes that we have to get a new vacuum – when that would change.
  • The kitchen dish scrubber that Fred and Julie gifted us. To be honest, I do dishes WAY to often to only be praying for Fred and Julie, so I use that time to be open to pray for whatever intentions or people come to mind as I work.
  • The diaper changing pad Taylor and Stephen gifted us. Those two have no idea how often I pray for them and their intentions each day!
  • The decorative vases Chris and Bob gifted us. Our recently mobile baby is drawn to the vases and their seasonal flowers. I get the appeal, but I still need to retrieve and redirect our sweet adventurer. Each time I retrieve and redirect, I offer up a prayer for Chris and Bob.

These are just a handful of household items that inspire me to pray over friends and family and pray for their intentions.

What Prompts You to Pray?

Assigning prayer to concrete tasks and specific locations fuels my spiritual life. In addition to household chores and gifts from friends or family to prompt my prayers, my workout routines do as well. Along my walking and running routes there are specific stoplights, crosswalks, and roundabouts that cue me to pray for specific individuals, populations, or issues.

If you have ever asked me to pray for a specific person or intention, you better believe there is a household chore or portion of my running route dedicated to that intention.

Maybe it is a bit offbeat, but these practices keep me accountable to being spiritually disciplined, and it is spiritual discipline that helps me be the best version of myself for my family, friends, community, and employer.

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Laura G
Laura Ginikos has called Columbus home since 2015 and works full-time as the director of youth and young adult ministries for a church in Dublin, OH. Laura met her husband in a freshman English class at the University of Dayton. After graduating from the University of Dayton with a degree in early childhood education, Laura headed to Michigan for a brief stint to earn her master’s degree in Family Life Education. Columbus is central to both Laura and her husband’s extended families and felt like a natural place for them to call home. Married in 2017, Laura and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in the summer of 2019. Their hearts and laundry baskets have never been so full. Lately, Laura is more likely to be found on walks rather than out running, but she has always loved running and is slowly getting back into it. Laura enjoys a good conversation, Panera Bread’s hazelnut coffee, puzzles and board games, a good novel, and all things autumn.