A Balm in Gilead: Opal’s Wisdom’s Devotional Offering for Perinatal Healing & Care

In honor of National Doula Month, the following reflections celebrate the upcoming release of my devotional e-book, A Balm: Poems, Prayers & Rites for Perinatal Comfort & Care, as well as the sacred work of birthworkers, caregivers, the families we serve, and all those journeying through grief and transformation.  

A Balm is a digital devotional offering rooted in ancestral wisdom—created to soothe, affirm, and spiritually tend to the sacred transitions of perinatal life. A companion for doulas, mothers, and grieving hearts, it honors the power of ritual as restoration. 

What is A Balm?

The word balm comes from the Hebrew בָּשָׂם (basam), meaning “spice” or “perfume.” It is:

• A fragrant ointment or preparation used to heal or soothe the skin

• Something that has a comforting, soothing, or restorative effect.

Historically, “balm” referred to a resinous substance used for healing—physically and spiritually.

In Gilead:“So That She May Be Healed”

"There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole..."

Popularized in our contemporary cultural lexicon by beautiful renditions by Sister Mahalia Jackson and, most recently, the Sunday Service Choir, the phrase originates from “the weeping prophet” Jeremiah’s lament:

“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” —Jeremiah 8:22

Gilead, a region east of the Jordan River, was renowned for its healing balm—a fragrant, medicinal resin used for wounds, ailments, and ceremonial preparation. His call to the people of Judah has come to symbolize a deep yearning for healing, for restoration, for divine intervention in a time of despair.

In Afro-ancestral  spiritual traditions, like The Church, Jeremiah’s question yields a response: a song of sanctuary and refuge, survival, and healing. The triumphant refrain, “There is a balm in Gilead” is a resonant proclamation of faith and wholeness amidst systemic suffering. It symbolizes:

• Ancestral wisdom

• Resilience & resistance

• Sacred restoration

• Spiritual healing

Even today, Balm of Gilead’s tight, sticky, resinous bud is utilized in our medicinal healing regimens for:

• Ancestral & spirit communication

• Bloodline healing, reconciliation, & soul repair

• Spiritual healing & heart mending

• Thresholds & liminal work

In essence, it is more than resin. It is a spiritual salve, offering a vibration of:

• Comfort

• Closure

• Communion

• Consolation

It is a sacred binding, a way to tend what aches, ritually and reverently.

Introducing A Balm: Devotional Texts for Perinatal Spiritual Care

A Balm, the e-book, is a devotional companion rooted in ancestral healing, created for families, birthworkers, caregivers, extended kin, and all those who journey through sacred thresholds—pregnancy, loss, postpartum, grief, and spiritual transformation.

What’s Inside

• 44 poems, prayers, & rites across Pregnancy, Childbirth, Postpartum, & Loss

• Rituals for grief, labor, grounding, & remembrance

• Devotional playlist specially curated to accompany meditation, labor, & childbirth 

• Language that honors motherless mothers & those surviving traumatic birthing experiences

Who’s It For

• First-time & grieving mothers

• Those seeking culturally-rooted maternal & spiritual care

• Doulas, midwives, community caregivers & advocates

• Womb-healers & ritualists

• Anyone seeking sacred reflection during life transitions

Why It Matters

• Blends poetic intimacy with practical ritual guidance

• Culturally affirming & trauma-informed

• Created for those often overlooked in mainstream perinatal care

• Honors ancestral wisdom & the mysterious beauty of becoming

As in the days of Jeremiah, A Balm offers:

• Spiritual alignment & soulful integrity

• Transformation & Renewal

• A spiritual anchor in adversity—

• Remembrance & reconnection to the wisdom of your lineage

• Spiritual Guidance for / toward discernment & restoration

Let This Balm Find You

Whether you are coping with a birth, grieving, or wholeheartedly accompanying a loved one through transformation, I pray that this balm finds you. May it soothe what is aching, mend what is torn, and restore to you the inner harmony that has always been yours to claim.

Preorder A Balm: Poems, Prayers & Rites for Perinatal Comfort & Care

Release Date: May 1, 2025

Available here.

Follow @opalswisdom.earth for updates, excerpts, and sacred offerings.