God, the ever-present Mother of the bride
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
I learned a lot about God’s mothering just before I got married. My mother was in the hospital and had been told she wouldn’t be able to get out for some time. Having my mother hospitalized while I prepared for my wedding was bad enough, but like most daughters, I’d dreamed of shopping for my wedding dress with Mum there to advise and encourage me.
I knew this special time should be joyful, not disappointing, and so I prayed. When we were children, my father took my brother and me to a Christian Science Sunday School, where we learned that God was both Father and Mother, and because God, Love, is completely good, this means that Love has only good in store for us. I also learned that prayer wasn’t about asking for something. It meant listening for a message from divine Love.
I especially love this sentence in Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “The Christian Science God is universal, eternal, divine Love, which changeth not and causeth no evil, disease, nor death.” So my prayer was turning me to this God to see what good was in store for me, rather than feeling sorry for myself or thinking that because my mum wasn’t able to help me, I was without love.
I’d also been learning that Love answers our prayers through good ideas that come to us. And the good thought that came to me after I prayed was, “God is your Mother.” I had certainly heard this a lot, but hadn’t thought much about it. What did it mean that God was my Mother?
It occurred to me that Love, God, was with me wherever I went—that I could never be outside of Love. The qualities I loved about my mum came from God, so I could experience them wherever I was. I really took these ideas to heart.
And then I went looking for a wedding dress alone. None of my friends could come with me, either. But I kept thinking about the idea that God was my Mother. I went into one store and was tempted to feel sorry for myself when I saw families together with their brides-to-be, all laughing happily. But I refused to feel depressed. “God is with me, right here. My Mother is with me.”
Then, as I was walking through the mall, I had a very strong intuition that said, “Go into that shop.” It was a very sophisticated wedding-dress shop, one that I never would have gone to normally. Obediently, however, I went in.
Inside, I saw a beautiful dress, and a thought came to me to try it on. Again, this was another thing I normally wouldn’t have done because I felt the dress was “too beautiful” for me. But my real Mother was telling me otherwise!
An attendant helped me with the dress and told me how beautiful I looked. She treated me like a princess! Then she said, “Your family is just outside, waiting to see it on you.” I replied, “Oh, no, I’m here by myself today.” And she said, “Are you? Well, there’s a group of people outside the changing room. They told me they're waiting to see the dress on you.”
I came out of the changing room to find a group of people I’d never met. They had wanted to see how I looked in the dress. They all told me how beautiful I was, and I laughed. It was just like rent-a-family!
And I was reminded again, in a very practical way, that because God is the source of all love, I could never be outside of that Love or away from those mothering qualities.
I found my perfect dress in the very next shop, and my mum was released from the hospital in time for my wedding. What I really learned, though, was that I could never be without my real Mother.
Recently, my mum passed away, and the memory of this experience really helped me. I was quickly healed of grief because of all I had learned and experienced of God’s ever-present mothering for us all.
Mother God:
Science and Health
140:25-27
King James Bible
Isa. 66:13