Imagine God comforting us as a mother comforts her child: The comfort that allows my kisses to work magic on my sons or my mother’s voice on the phone to melt my stress. These are glimpses of the bond God has with us. We can rejoice that our relationships with those who have mothered us are a hint of God’s love for us.
What if we thought our relationship with God is less about getting the answers right and more about being like a newborn? What if we trusted God as an infant trusts her mama? Does it help us realize that God was with us at our births, urging us into the world? Or that God is with us during times when we are reborn, giving direction and cradling our new life in Divine arms?
As we expand our understanding of God, we grow in our relationship with God. It becomes easier to see ourselves as God’s beloved treasure and the tasks of our lives as God’s work. And we share the resulting deep joy with others.
This message is an excerpt of “God as mother” by Michelle Terry in the May 2021 issue Café. Today we celebrate Juneteenth – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day. It’s a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.
Daily Grace is just one of the many free online resources from Women of the ELCA that can strike a spark of prayer and pondering. Please support Women of the ELCA at welca.org/give.
reply
retweet
favorite