Dear Mama God

We have entered the longest season of the church year, the season after Pentecost, where we practice living with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection and the hope of Jesus’ return. To me that looks like asking “how do we practice following Jesus in everyday moments?”

In my family right now, one of the focuses is on prayer. I don’t mean fifteen minutes of quiet uninterrupted prayer or praying all the daily offices every day. These spiritual practices have immense value and are impractical with a two-year-old. For my family, prayer looks like lighting a candle at the start of a meal and blowing it out at the end. It looks like singing and clapping mealtime graces. It looks like listing my toddler’s beloved peoples’ names at nighttime prayer.

And it looks like reading “Dear Mama God” by Daneen Akers and Gillian Gamble. “Dear Mama God” is both simple and revolutionary. The words are simple, and I can imagine a child praying them. It is revolutionary in teaching the often-overlooked feminine images of God from an early age.

The illustrations are a joy to dwell with, feeling both relatable and whimsical. God’s beautiful diversity is represented within the images – it is one of the few books in which I have seen a child with a cochlear implant.

For older children, it can bring up the rich conversation of the many names of God, why God cannot be limited to one name, and what names we use to describe God as a family and faith community. “Dear Mama God” is an essential bookshelf book.

“Dear Mama God” by Daneen Akers and Gillian Gamble. Published by Watchfire Media in 2023.