Many of you moms
were delighted to be honored and pampered, and received cards, gifts, and love
galore. Others of you were disappointed, forgotten or ignored, or even railed
at. Some of you have empty arms that ached to have children but did not, or had
a child who left this world too early. Perhaps Mother’s Day is your hardest day of the
year.
I rejoice
with those of you who celebrated with a full heart yesterday. I grieve with
those of you who are still raw from the pain. For all of us, no matter where we
fall in the spectrum, there is good news.
God is both
our perfect Father and Mother. Created in His image, we are male and female—two
complimentary genders to make up the perfect and complex character of God. I
have no desire to change the male pronouns for God throughout the Bible. But I
would like to point out how perfectly He fills our need for the nurturing,
gentle hand moms can bring, as well as the provider, protector, and strength of
dads.
Before
anyone, including our own mothers, knew what we looked like or what our
personality would be, God delighted over us in the womb. He thought about us
like an excited first time mom thinks constantly about the baby growing inside
her. He saw each movement, watched our growth; He designed every cell and
dimple and quirky personality. He loved us!
My frame was not hidden from
you when
I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for
me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me
are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber
the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. (Psa. 139:15-18)
God is like a playful mom—smiling, teasing, singing, wiping away the
tears and bumps life so readily hands out.
You will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her
knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort
you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. (Isa.
66:12-13)
The Mother-Heart of God wants a relationship with us like the bond a toddler
has with her mommy. Past the demanding need for nursing, yet attached and
comforted by her mother’s warmth and presence. Leaning in to her embrace.
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned
child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. (Psalm
131:2)
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| photo by Selaphotography |
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| photo by Selaphotography |
When we pull away from God, it tears at His heart, just as surely as a
mother grieves when her children refuse to let her protect them from harm.
Jesus expressed the grief He feels when His children turn away from the love
and forgiveness He offers.
How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings. (Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34)
Even worse, is the defiant child who turns his back on Mom—running away,
calling her names, blaming her for the trouble he has brought on himself. God
feels the same ache when His children rebel and leave Him behind.
“I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held
out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—a people who continually provoke me to my very face.” (Isa.
65:2-3)
And yet, like so many mothers we know who remain
constant and tenacious in hope for their child’s return, so is God in His love
for us. He cannot forget us—He bears the mark of His love on His hands.
“The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the
child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands; your walls are ever before me.” (Isa.
49:14-16)
To all you mothers and all you children, may God enfold you in His
loving embrace today.
#mothersday #areyoumymother #hatemothersday #abandoned #emptyarms
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