For All Of Us: A Prayer for International Women’s Day

For All of Us: A Prayer for International Women’s Day

God who created us very good,
every day is a day to celebrate
the splendor, the wonder
of all of us-
women.

For all that we carry-
water on our heads,
babies in our wombs,
the legacy of our ancestors,
dreams for future generations,
we ask for strength in our bones
and love for our own frames.

For all that we raise-
the children of our villages,
communities of resilience,
resistant hands,
defiant voices-
we ask for the courage to keep asserting
and a world that honors our being.

For all that we bear-
violence both physical and emotional,
injustices both known and unknown,
the inescapable weight of misogyny
the trauma of generations-
we ask for an end to the forces that tear,
and the force of love to repair.

For all that we break-
stubborn glass ceilings,
sexist expectations,
longheld silences,
systems that dehumanize-
we ask for an unwavering sense of worth
and new structures that can house all of who we are.

For all that we continue to fight for-
equal pay, reproductive rights,
queer and trans visibility, migrant justice-
we ask for new weapons to be forged
and divine wisdom for the battles ahead.

For all that we are-
resilient, powerful,
loving, hospitable,
creative, daring
beautiful, valuable, generous-
we ask for fullness of joy,
and gladness in our existence.

Grant women around the world reminders this day
of our immeasurable worth,
the divine image within us.

And amidst the forces that make us forget,
help us remember that
our bodies are for thriving,
our stories are for telling,
and our presence is resistance,
in a world that tries to erase us every day.
Amen.