Mothering
Proverbs 31
Today is Mother's Day.
For me, it is a reminder of the nature of God, and a reason to give thanks to God for God's wisdom in designing human existence.
We blithely say, "God is love," but do we deeply consider the implications of such a radical and profound statement?
If we did a better job of doing so, we would more readily find solutions to some of the major issues before humanity. Ask a mother devoted to the care and nurture of a child. Meeting the needs of the child, nurturing the child's growing spirit, and learning the balance between holding on and letting go are essential pieces of being a mother in a healthy and effective way. Moms learn this, but they also seem to instinctively know it.
I believe this is so because of the way God fashioned us. God is love. God created all that is in an act of love. Therefore, love will be the means by which the created discover the deepest and truest essence of who they are. In The Book of Joy, a recorded dialog between Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, they emphasize that human beings are wired for compassion--our brains and our being function most purely and effectively when compassion guides us.
Being a parent is embodied compassion when done in a healthy manner. We all know the tragic stories of parenting gone awry. Yes, being a parent is fraught with all the frailty of being human, and, yes, there are incidents when everything goes backward and sideways with grievous consequence. Every parent I know knows a moment of failure. But that does not negate the basic truth that existing in love is the way God made us. To feed a child, clean a child, teach a child, walk with a child, hold a child, and let go of a child etches and confirms the essential nature of being in the image of God. God is love; we are to exist in love.
Looking at our world, and especially at our time and place, we see the consequences of living apart from that basic nature of being in the image of God. Living to and for self takes us far away from what we should be. We become hardened to others. We neglect others. We grow fearful of others. We react and lash out against others. Some go hungry. Some languish in abject poverty. Some human beings forget or never know they are children of God--beloved, cherished, and worthy.
We can change that.
Love a child. Meet a child. Help a child.
The world can transform one child at a time.
Today is Mother's Day.
For me, it is a reminder of the nature of God, and a reason to give thanks to God for God's wisdom in designing human existence.
We blithely say, "God is love," but do we deeply consider the implications of such a radical and profound statement?
If we did a better job of doing so, we would more readily find solutions to some of the major issues before humanity. Ask a mother devoted to the care and nurture of a child. Meeting the needs of the child, nurturing the child's growing spirit, and learning the balance between holding on and letting go are essential pieces of being a mother in a healthy and effective way. Moms learn this, but they also seem to instinctively know it.
I believe this is so because of the way God fashioned us. God is love. God created all that is in an act of love. Therefore, love will be the means by which the created discover the deepest and truest essence of who they are. In The Book of Joy, a recorded dialog between Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, they emphasize that human beings are wired for compassion--our brains and our being function most purely and effectively when compassion guides us.
Being a parent is embodied compassion when done in a healthy manner. We all know the tragic stories of parenting gone awry. Yes, being a parent is fraught with all the frailty of being human, and, yes, there are incidents when everything goes backward and sideways with grievous consequence. Every parent I know knows a moment of failure. But that does not negate the basic truth that existing in love is the way God made us. To feed a child, clean a child, teach a child, walk with a child, hold a child, and let go of a child etches and confirms the essential nature of being in the image of God. God is love; we are to exist in love.
Looking at our world, and especially at our time and place, we see the consequences of living apart from that basic nature of being in the image of God. Living to and for self takes us far away from what we should be. We become hardened to others. We neglect others. We grow fearful of others. We react and lash out against others. Some go hungry. Some languish in abject poverty. Some human beings forget or never know they are children of God--beloved, cherished, and worthy.
We can change that.
Love a child. Meet a child. Help a child.
The world can transform one child at a time.
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