My children used to say, "Mother, you must have eyes in the back of your head!" Good mothers often seem to have an uncanny way of knowing their children's need, even when the children aren't aware of that need. Mothers can soothe hurts, brush away tears, and also know when correction is needed.

The qualities of the good mother are derived from God. How natural and enduring is God's love for His children! God's motherhood cannot be separated from man, the spiritual image of divine Love. Man reflects the unwavering love that his divine Father-Mother God has for all spiritual creation.

Many times children and parents disagree on behavior policy. However, though differing life-styles pose an impasse, the door of communication need not close. Mutual happiness and fulfillment, when governed by God's love, are not subject to the vicissitudes of seeming incompatibility. The trials of human relationships do not impede happiness and spiritual progress when the qualities of God's motherhood are expressed. As a human mother learns patience, forgiveness, and understanding in her quest for Truth in Christian Science, she will find family relationships beautifully enhanced. The human expression of motherhood will be increasingly appreciated as the spiritual qualities emanating directly from the one divine Love become apparent.

In the most trying situation we can draw on the spiritual strength of true motherhood and hold the hand of Love, which ushers us through hazardous situations. We will find ourselves lifted above temptation, comforted, shielded, embraced. Identifying ourselves as the image of the universal Father-Mother God enables us to reach out mentally and embrace the sick, the sinning, the sorrowful—to comfort others—to comprehend and apply the truth that heals.

Christian Science teaches that divine Love always meets the human need when we understand that we really are God's children right now. Christ Jesus' perception of God as the perfect creator enabled him to know his own spiritual origin and perfection, and he expressed God's motherhood in his tender concern for others— his own mother, for example. We read of him on the cross: "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!" ^{John 19:26,27;}

True motherhood is not the province of women alone. A child can be a great little mother. Men can express this gentleness. And we see those wonderfully perceptive men, women, and children who tenderly reach out and embrace the whole world in love. As we recognize motherly love as a spiritual quality rather than as a physical, instinctive one, we cannot help but see that God's motherhood is a resource we have barely begun to draw upon. Within each of us is the potential for compassion and care that assists those in need, sees the promise in God's children, encourages the fulfillment of individuality, and expresses patience with developing thought.

Mrs. Eddy writes: "Christian Scientists understand that, in a religious sense, they have the same authority for the appellative mother, as for that of brother and sister. Jesus said: 'For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.'" ^{Science and Health, p. 267.}

Spiritual love is not rationed, suppressed, or withheld, even though to human sense it may seem to be. This love finds expression in our lives in many ways, often through the recognition of God as the only Mother.

Accepting the premise that God is the sole creator, we learn to see the children entrusted to our care as His ideas.

The world needs an understanding of God's motherhood. Let us all be responsive to the lonely, the sick, the sad. And let the mother in each of us rejoice in God's children—in the joy and beauty of the creation that is His own.