Birthing and parenting is deeply spiritual work. It forces us to ask difficult questions and can take us to the hardest moments we’ve ever faced.

There are times when our carers’ faith is important, and times when it’s not. I’ve written this short reflection on mine for the times when my faith is important to my clients.

I was born and raised Jewish. I had a fair amount of religious practice with a reform congregation throughout my childhood, but I stopped practicing religion and became simply ethnically Jewish after my bat mitzvah, when I was thirteen. I will always be Jewish in my body, my ways of being, and my lineage. My Jewish identity is important to me, and I attend holiday services occasionally to stay connected to my community.

As a teen and twenty-something, I held a mostly private earth-based spiritual practice. I continue to celebrate earth-based holidays that originated in Europe with my daughter in a non-religious way, since I find that the rhythm and appreciation for the natural world that these holidays bring is valuable to our human life.

In the depths of my own new motherhood, I found Jesus to be a helper and a solace. No one was more shocked than me at this spiritual development in my life! I attend church occasionally, but I have found that my own patchwork-quilted religious heritage doesn’t mesh well with many church communities. However, my spiritual practice is still to pray daily, especially when I am struggling.

Since I am comfortable in myself and I do not require any other person to live or believe as I do, I am comfortable serving people of all faiths, including none. As a curious person, I have been in all kinds of religious environments, and I’ve appreciated them all. I am happy to pray with my clients when asked. Unless asked, I will keep my faith to myself.