A Mother Deserving of Praise

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I have been very blessed from both directions in this department. Not only do I have the worlds best, smartest, and most beautiful children that ever lived, and I’m going to be a Grandma soon, but I come from a long line of strong, Godly women. Grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and my sister are all women who have faced life with strength and laughter and have overcome polio, military husbands who moved them around a lot, loss of children, and heartbreak beyond what I can imagine. My mother is a prime example of strength and grace, and I am blessed to have her in my life. I’ve used the word blessed a lot in this paragraph, but I can’t come up with any word that is more fitting.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
 but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Not all of you have been so fortunate, and in truth, none of the women in my life have been perfect. With strength comes a bit of stubbornness, and we’ve had our struggles. Some of you have done more than struggle. Some of you were abandoned, or were harmed in unspeakable ways by the women who should have protected and nurtured you. Some of you have lost children, and your arms feel very empty. Mother’s Day is a painful reminder of what others have that you don’t. It feels very unfair. To make things worse, maybe you don’t feel like you know how to be a good mother yourself. Perhaps you aborted or abandoned your baby, and you suffer from the pain and guilt that accompanies that.

We know that God is our perfect father. Jesus called him Daddy, Abba, and his paternal love is well documented throughout scripture. Sometimes we forget that God is also our perfect mother. God is spirit, and gender is a physical attribute. As humans, we were created in the image of God, male and female, and so it follows that God is both father and mother.

For this is what the Lord says:  “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass… Isaiah 66:12-14

God is the mother you should have had. God is the only perfect mother. He is there, waiting to lift you onto his lap, to snuggle you, to comfort you, to love you as only he can do. He is your perfect mother, and is the perfect example of the mother I want to be. He loves us perfectly, and expresses that love in ways that are good for us, that encourage our growth and that help us be all that he wants us to be. He helps us flourish like healthy grass.

Bring your hurts, your disappointments and your fears to God. Let him kiss your pain and make it better. Let him mother you, as only he can. Rest in his forgiveness, and accept his peace and comfort. Rejoice in him today.

I like chickens!

I like chickens. There is something noble and grounding about chickens. A healthy hen reminds me of my mother’s aunts, handsome in a hard working farmer’s wife kind of way, a different honest kind of beauty. Solid. Nothing airbrushed there.  Plus, they eat bugs. Anything that gets rid of bugs is okay with me.

I follow several chicken pages on Facebook. It’s kind of silly; a city girl like me, reading up on caring for chickens. Repeatedly people post pictures of a plump chicken with her wings out, covering a fluffy little group of chicks. She is fierce looking, ever vigilant against any danger to her babies.

In Psalm 91, the Psalmist paints a picture of God as a bird, perhaps a hen, who spreads her wings and covers her children, protecting them.

“The person who rests in the shadow of the Most High God will be kept safe by the Mighty One. I will say about the Lord, ‘He is my place of safety. He is like a fort to me. He is my God. I trust in him.’

He will certainly save you from hidden traps and from deadly sickness. He will cover you with his wings. Under the feathers of his wings you will find safety. He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower. You won’t have to be afraid.”

Because God is our protection, we can huddle like protected babies, safe under his protection.

We often think of God as our Father, and in fact scripture speaks of him this way often. But God is also like a Mother, nurturing and protective, providing us with life and comfort and love. Jesus expressed this clearly as he lamented over Jerusalem. The religious leaders who should have been caring for them, directing and teaching and protecting them, were more interested in their own power. Jesus longed to gather his people and love them, like a hen with her chicks.

“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me!” Matt. 23:37

Jesus longed to gather the people of his day to himself and mother them. They rejected him. He longs to do the same to us. The people of our day are lost, rejecting him and running into danger, depending on their own resources when in reality they are fragile little chicks, ill equipped to handle the enemies of this world.

Jesus wants to Mother you. He wants to draw you to himself, spread his wings out over you and have you rest in his care. Often we are just too busy. We run about, busily handling things on our own, ignoring the wisdom and strength and peace that are available in his presence. He is so accessible to us, and we refuse even to know him more.

Stop, just for a minute today. Come to Jesus as a little child, trusting and willing to snuggle up and rest. Talk to Jesus like you would talk to your mother, learning from him and enjoying his presence.  He loves you. Believe.