This year, Cath Clifford and I were asked to help Benita Tait organise and facilitate the evening. Benita has been involved with Mums’ Night Out for a few years with Sr Lynette Pearce. The theme, we were told, was beauty.

It is often very difficult to recognise our beauty as mums so the theme provided the planning team with plenty to contemplate and some great ideas were born.

On a Wednesday night in early May over 45 women gathered at the Blackbutt Hotel in New Lambton to enjoy a meal and conversation and to be affirmed in their role as mum.

Benita opened the evening with an overview.

“Beauty is in the being; it is intrinsic in us because it is God. Self-love helps us to protect the beauty within us and enables us to nurture it to wholeness. Mercy is an exchange of tenderness and beauty is in the tenderness. You are all saints because when our light shines our children come to life and so do we,” said Benita.

I read a story I had written for Aurora around the theme of beauty. It turns out that it is a lot more difficult to read aloud something you have written than to write it! There were tears and mostly from me!

We used songs and images to help express the beauty of mothers.

Before dinner each woman present received a card of affirmation and self love which were then used at each table to further the conversation.

Cath made each attendee a crocheted heart with a sparkling centre to remind them that we have to nurture that diamond in our hearts and our heart is the source of our beauty.

Sr Helen-Anne Johnson and a large group from Mums’ Cottage in Holmesville produced place mats and a lovely prayer of grace, as well as running a raffle and giving away some much appreciated lucky seat prizes.

We were fortunate to hear from some of the mums present expressing what the night had meant to them. It was clear they enjoyed the honesty and companionship of those around them.

Each lady present received a little gift pack at the end of the evening.

Once a month the group will receive an email from the planning committee to remind them of their beauty, share stories, images and encouragement and affirm them until next years’ Mums’ Night Out.

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