Article August 13, 2012 Issue

What's in God's nature

Joan Pedersen

I remember a photo that ran on the Home Forum page of The Christian Science Monitor a number of years ago. The picture was of an African woman washing some items in a river, with her baby in a wrap around her back. The baby was sleeping comfortably as her mom worked. The caption underneath the photo was an African proverb that read, “It is not in the nature of the mother’s back to let the baby fall.”

I’ve remembered that picture whenever I’ve been tempted to believe there is suffering in the world that can’t be healed. Our Mother God never lets us fall. God’s nature is all-loving and compassionate. And as God’s children we can expect to feel that love and compassion in our lives and to express those same qualities. And I’ve found that praying for the world helps make me feel closer to others and reminds me I have a role to play to bring healing wherever error seems to be.

A few years ago my whole family went to our cabin for Thanksgiving. This cabin had only been used in the summer and was near a bay, so it was very cold in the winter. My mom and I arrived in the early afternoon. We started a fire in the fireplace, but even after four hours it was still freezing cold. When the rest of the family arrived, my brother-in-law went to turn on the water but the pipes were frozen. We would need water to cook the Thanksgiving meal.

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