May,
2001
"Happy
Mother's Day"
"April
showers bring May flowers!" Only those who have gone through
a long, cold, dark, dreary and wet winter and spring can truly
appreciate that saying. All the world bursts forth in green and
growth. It is as if it knows there are only a few short months
in which to come to maturity and full beauty before once again
being cast into a long winter slumber. You can almost watch the
grass grow before your eyes. And what about those fields of corn?
As a new grandmother,
I also have been experiencing this miracle of new birth and quick
growth as I have watched my beautiful granddaughter. (To read
more and see her go to the April Archive Lesson!) Oh how she has
changed in just a few short weeks. I am watching her begin to
smile, to notice her hands, to feel things and grab on, to mimic
your facial expression….oh I could go on and on…….
It is wonderful and each day I am reminded of God and His love
for each of us.
I have also
been so blessed as I have watched my daughter become a mother.
She has learned all of the cries, squeaks and grunts of her baby.
She knows what every sound means. She is attentive to her every
need. My daughter, who would sleep through untold alarms ringing
in her ear, wakes at the softest noise from the bassinet.
My greatest
pleasure is watching the beautiful picture of her and Cassandra
as she is holding her to her breast, providing that comfort and
nourishment that only a mother can give. What a beautiful picture
of God's love and comfort and nourishment of us as He draws us
to Himself and holds us in His arms to provide for our every need.
His name,
El Shaddai, God Almighty, All Sufficient One gives us this very
picture. El stands for might, power, omnipotence and transcendence.
Shaddai can be translated "breast." And so His name
El Shaddai, as first used in scripture in genesis 17: 1, signifies
one who nourishes, supplies, satisfies. With God this means He
is the one who pours out sustenance and blessing.
In this month
of May, we set aside a day to honor our mothers for the love and
life they have given us. Though we know that God calls Himself
our Father, this particular name of His, El Shaddai, points to
what we would call in human terms, a more feminine characteristic
of His. All that we are as humans, male and female, are parts
of Who He is and the characteristics that He has chosen to give
us. So as we celebrate our mothers and grandmothers and even the
children we have given birth to, let us also remember to celebrate
and honor the Great Nourishing One of Heaven, our El Shaddai -
God Almighty!
This might
be a good time to also reflect on the first mother - Eve. In Genesis
3:20 it says, "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would
become the mother of all the living." If we truly want to
be a holy example of motherhood, we must guard against the deception
of the enemy that she fell prey to. The only way to withstand
deception and lies is to know the truth. Study the Word of God
this month with this theme in mind - motherhood, nurturance, truth.
For the Word of God, the Bible, is our only standard of truth
and the only absolute we can use for comparison. Jesus, Who is
the Living Word, said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John14:6)
As you consider
Eve and her husband Adam and the families of the earth that she
gave birth to, I ask you to try and put aside all previous teaching
that you may have had, set aside what you think you know and let
the Lord use His scriptures to show you things about your own
life and heart that He might like to impart to you. I also want
to mention a book that was brought to my attention by a L.O.V.E.
Club member. (Eve, Get In Your Place by Gloria Ward can be reviewed
on the web site: evegetinyourplace.com) It may be something for
you to read in order to stimulate your thinking about Eve and
about your own place in God's kingdom. Remember, however, no matter
what you read or hear, whether from me or anyone else, it must
line up with what the Word of God says. So study to show yourself
approved. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Each of you,
whether or not you have given birth in the natural to a child,
are called to mother and nurture. God has given you the tenderness
and ability to love and nourish which is part of His very nature.
Consider this call upon your life and take time during this month
to seek the Lord regarding your motherhood. Who has God placed
in your life for you to give life and nurture to? Not one of you
is too young to offer this love and sustenance and comfort to
someone else. Nor does the Lord allow you to consider yourself
too old. Can you get in touch with the very nature of God, El
Shaddai, that He has placed within you? Can you allow the gift
of His presence to flow freely through you, even as a mother's
milk flows freely from her breast to her child?
Yes, you too
can give birth to a child - many children (in the natural and
also in the spirit). For with God nothing is impossible. The Holy
Spirit can come upon you and empower you to love and nurture those
in your lives who need Him. Can you yield yourself to His purposes
by saying, as did Mary, the Mother of God, "I am the Lord's
servant. Be it unto me according to Your Word."? (Luke 1:29-38)
My prayer
for you is that you be fruitful and multiply. I wish you each
a very Holy and Blessed Mother's Day.
L.O.V.E.,
Patty
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