The warmth and tenderness of God’s mothering

Sometimes it can feel as if our security and happiness completely depend upon the presence of another person. Often this person is someone very close to us, such as a spouse or parent. But what happens when this person is no longer in our lives?

We would do well to remember this statement from Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896 by Mary Baker Eddy: “God is our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician: He is man’s only real relative on earth and in heaven. David sang, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.’ 

I kept thinking about how God’s shepherding takes different forms in our lives.

“Brother, sister, beloved in the Lord, knowest thou thyself, and art thou acquainted with God?” (p. 151).

The practical application of God’s dear love was revealed to me as I prayed after my mother’s passing.

My mother had been gone for two years, and Mother’s Day was coming up. Although my mother had lived a long and productive life, I felt in no way “ready” to lose her. My mom was a woman of strong faith, a faith that she made practical in every aspect of her life. A devout student of Christian Science, she relied radically on God for her health and well-being. She was cheerful, caring, and naturally drew people to her through her spirituality.

As Mother’s Day drew nearer, I missed my mom. We had become great friends and companions. Many times over the past few years, I had picked up the phone to share a thought with her and to tell her I loved her. 

One evening, at a Wednesday evening testimony meeting at church, I was thinking about how much I missed her. During the service, the congregation sang a beloved hymn, which begins, “O Love, our Mother, ever near” (Margaret Glenn Matters, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 232, © CSBD). As we sang, I felt the immediate love of God, my divine Mother, right then and there.

A family member had recently shared with me an idea she was cherishing. She was thinking about how the individuals in her life played certain roles and expressed diverse God-given qualities. For example, I expressed qualities of sisterly love; likewise, anyone else could be the “expression of sister” to her, if they demonstrated those same qualities.

As I reflected on this concept, I realized that my mom had not only been a mother to me throughout the years, but at times she’d also expressed the qualities of a father, a teacher, and a friend. I also knew that God’s ideas are eternal, so these qualities could never be lost, even though I could no longer call my mom or talk to her face to face.

I kept thinking about how God’s shepherding takes different forms in our lives. I then recalled a time when my daughter had expressed qualities of motherhood in her grandmother’s life. My mom was planning a trip to India and, long story short, had to do some fancy footwork to figure out some issues with her passport. She had run out of ideas for resolving the issue.

My young daughter took caring initiative and, through a series of inquiries and some impressive planning, shepherded her grandmother through the appropriate steps to sort everything out. Both my mother and my daughter had been praying for guidance and listening for solutions. The situation was resolved quickly and harmoniously, through the Mother-love of God, as expressed by my daughter’s loving support.

I realized that in fact, it has been Father-Mother God who has always tenderly cared for me and would continue to do so.

Remembering this incident made me smile. I then began to think of all the other individuals in my life who have expressed spiritual qualities of motherly love over the past two years: the lovely women at church whose faith, love, joy, and kindness inspired me; faithful friends who sensed my needs and stepped in to mother me; my siblings and their spouses, who have lovingly kept family traditions alive; my children, nieces, and nephews, who exhibit humor, liveliness, and competence, which were so often expressed by my mother; and my husband who has been an anchor for me, as my mother was.

One way to look at “family” is that our family is made up of those “brothers and sisters” who do the good will of God. Jesus instructed his followers: “Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother” (Mark 3:33–35).

I realized that in fact it has been Father-Mother God who has always tenderly cared for me and would continue to do so. We are expressions of our Father-Mother God, and God’s love is all around us; His love is infinite and eternal. 

As another hymn assures us:

This hymn teaches us that we will always be loved, cared for, and cherished. We can never be separated from the love and care that come from a solid understanding of our relationship to God, and neither can those who have made an impact on our lives. Instead, we can rejoice in the gentle embrace of God’s motherly love.