St. Monica Prays for Her Teenager
5x6.5 Acrylic on Paper
St. Monica is the patron saint of mothers. Her son, who grew up to be St. Augustine, was the absolute worst teenager in the world. He really gave his mom a lot of gray hairs! Fortunately he got his act together later on in life and turned out fine (according to his mom, historians may actually debate this). Regardless, it is REALLY HARD being the mom of a teen!
I've done some reading on the subject and the teenaged years are the hardest developmental stage human beings go through. Some kids have family dysfunction, depression or other mental health problems, disabilities, addiction or other factors making it even worse!
As a mother, I try to remind myself to pray instead of worry. Doing this small painting helped me through an especially tough time. St .Monica is deep in prayer, her teenager visible in the glowing doorway. Is he on a good path? What kind of person will she grow up to be? Is he safe? What kinds of choices will she make? Her heart is following her child on wings as he goes. The message on the TV set reminds her to pray for courage.
