Testimony of Healing May 6, 1985 Issue

My mother passed on shortly after my birth, and as I had no...

PATRICIA M. DUNIWAY

My mother passed on shortly after my birth, and as I had no opportunity to know her, I experienced no sense of loss in my early years. However, as time passed, there were innumerable occasions when I thought about her and wondered what kind of relationship we would have had, particularly when I saw the close, warm relationships my friends had with their mothers. My father seldom spoke of her. (I realized later that he was still grieving and that this had kept him silent.)

I longed to know someone who had known my mother well and who would share their friendship with me. But this did not happen. The longing to know about her increased as time passed, and I began to feel a deep sense of loss.

I had been raised in an orthodox religion, but it had never taken hold. The church I attended seemed very rigid and ritualistic, viewing God as a judgmental, tyrannical, and fearsome father. The motherhood of God was not considered. I finally decided that church was not for me.

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