Growing up, I had a sort of unconventional family. I lost my dad to cancer when I was young, but my mom remarried a few years later. I got adopted by my stepdad when I was seven, and I had an innate sense of the role that a dad plays to his kids. This really helped me in my understanding of how God relates to His children, because I have always known Him as The Father. This was thrown out of the window in the very first chapter of Dark Night of the Soul. God is described as nurturing and tender like a mother. The metaphor even goes so far as to include breastfeeding and snuggling the soul of man, and then eventually teaching said soul to walk. This is a completely new side of God to me. Tender motherly nature isn't something that runs rampant in my family, so it's harder for me to relate to the idea of someone who is tender and loving and compassionate in that way. It makes me want to run back to God and ask Him to show me that side of Him. A goal that is very close to my heart is to have children and to care for them and love them in the way that God loves me, and I really want to experience love in that way from God. Have y'all seen this side of Him before, or are you more like me?
PS Madalyn and Hailey Morgan
I can see where God can be motherly just as much as He is portrayed fatherly. In fact, I remember one part of Scripture that He told His disobedient people that He longed to gather them together like a hen gathers her brood under her wings. So, I think God loves in all sorts of ways and takes on various different roles to approach His people depending on what they need most.
ReplyDelete