Sample Poems and Readings (can be read by officiant or friends/family)
God bless all that I love;
All those that love me;
All those that love
those that I love;
And all those that love those that love me.
From an embroidered sampler in the 16th or 17th
century
God Let _________ Walk With You
Although her/his steps are small
Stay beside him/her, hold his/her hand
And never let him/her fall.
Amen.
Babies are Angels that fly to the earth,
their wings disappear at the time of their birth
one look in their eyes and we're never the same
They're part of us now and that part has a name
That part is your heart and a bond that won't sever
our Babies are Angels, we love them forever. ~Unknown~
Precious one,
So small,
So sweet
Dancing in
on angel feet
Straight from Heaven's
brightest star
What a miracle
you are!
~Unknown~
This little tiny baby
Was sent from God above
To fill your hearts with happiness
And touch your lives with love
He must have known
You'd give your all
And always do your best
To give your precious baby love
And be grateful and so blessed
~Unknown~
Loving God, thank you for the gift of life and for bringing [insert new baby's name] safely into this world. May You bless him/her and keep him/her, helping him/her to grow loving, strong, and healthy in Your love, now and always. Amen.
A Parent’s Prayer by Rabbi Rami M Shapiro
We call unto the Source of Life
In thanksgiving for the wonder of the gift of life,
We are humbled by the blessing and responsibility of parenthood
And our participation in the miracle of creation.
May we learn to love without smothering
May we learn to house without imprisoning,
May we learn to give without imposing,
May we learn to live today,
That yesterday and tomorrows
Might find their way into the world,
We give thanks for the gifts of life,
And stand in wonder
Before the awesome task of parenting that lies before us,
Blessed is the Way of Life
That makes parents rejoice with child.
Parent's' Prayer at the Birth of a Child
We are humbled by the awesome power of this moment.
From our lives we have brought forth life.
Through our love we have fashioned a child of love.
May our child be a blessing to all he meets.
And may he count us among his blessings as well.
Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
Mother's Prayer
Teach me to walk slowly
with my children, Lord,
To talk quietly and with
assurance.
Let me give them hope not fear.
Help me to listen to their
voices, Lord,
So I may know when the sound
is idle chatter,
And when it is the cry
of a lonely heart.
Teach me to share my joys
and restrain my disappointments.
Precious Lord, light my way,
let me be a good example
Of a loving spirit.
By Marilyn Giese
My Son (can easily also be used for a girl)
Barbara Shooltz Kendzierski.
You did not come to me as the moon, reflective
Of me, or to orbit my life but as a star, radiant
With light and warmth and path of your own,
I will always try to remember.
I want to neither hold you captive of my dreams
Nor to pressure you to color between the lines I have drawn,
I hope to never distort your questions
To fit my answers: but sometimes
I will forget,
May the limits I set serve you
Like the scaffolds serves the skyscraper in its ascent,
Then falls away when the time comes to let go,
May my words teach you to listen
And my listening teach you to speak
So in quiet it is your own voice you find,
May I be a mirror so you can see yourself clearly
As child of a loving God who delights in your being,
The Greatest Gift by Mozelle Schouten Leblanc, (1895-1951)
If the Father in Heaven should say unto me,
"I will grant thee one wish, Mozelle.
So thou hadst best think deeply and long
So thou wilt wish wisely and well."
I'd not ask the Lord for a wonderful voice
Or for great fame untold.
I'd not ask for a beautiful face
Or for the glitter of gold.
I'd ask for something far greater than these,
The greatest gift from above.
Just a wee thing I could call all my own,
A dear little baby to love.
A dear little hand clasped tight in my own
A dear mouth made for me to kiss.
Of all the great things that the Lord could bestow
What gift could be greater than this.
Baby
(Helen Steiner Rice)
A wee bit of heaven
drifted down from above -
A handful of happiness,
a heartful of love.
The mystery of life,
so sacred and sweet -
The giver of joy
so deep and complete.
Precious and priceless,
so lovable, too -
The world's sweetest miracle,
baby, is you.
All You Are
(by Michael Card - based on a poem by George MacDonald)
Where did you get those eyes so blue?
They're from the sky that you passed through.
Where did you get that little tear?
Did you find that it was waiting for you here?
And what about your little nose?
He knew you'd need it for the rose.
And as for your soft curly ear,
He knew there would be songs for you to hear.
How can it be that you are you?
He thought you up and so you grew.
Because you're mine, it must be true
That He was also thinking of me too.
For all you are, and all you'll be,
For everything you mean to me,
Though I don't understand,
I know you're from the Father's hand
Children by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,
"Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for
itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to
you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which
you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make
them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living
arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may
go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves
also the bow that is stable.
On Children by Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.
Vincent van Gogh
Take a sprinkling of fairy dust,
An angel’s single feather,
Also a dash of love and care,
Then mix them both together.
Add a sentiment or two,
A thoughtful wish or line,
A touch of stardust, a sunshine ray…
It’s a recipe, for a Baby Girl truly fine.
Author Unknown
God Sent You the Best He Had....
God sent you the best He had --
The blessings of baby hands
And ten small toes that come in rows
Imported from Angel lands!
God blessed the little darling
And to earth sent us this joy;
Who has won our hearts already, Your Blessed Baby.
I send you the best I have --
A wish that is big and true;
That God will bless with tenderness
His dear little Gift and you!!!!
Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.