"then sings my soul..."

O, Lord my God!
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works
thy hand hath made,
I see the stars,
I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout
the universe displayed;

Then sings my soul,
my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art,
how great Thou art!"

I saw this Youtube video of  Vince Gill and Carrie Underwood performing the timeless gospel, "How Great Thou Art," and knew what my Mother's Day post this year would be.   This performance is remarkable...

I've written about my mom, my children's moms...birth, step, grand, and their dads who have been wonderful mother-figures for us all...as well as my aunt, and some extraordinary moms who are also my good friend, in the past.  Some parent, or have parented, children daily...and some are moms waiting for children, but they have all demonstrated a love for, and devotion to, the verb, "to mother."   It is the magna that pours from the core of their being.

But this year, I wanted to write something, ever so brief about what, I believe, is at the very heart of that core mother-love.   The Motherhood of God. 

God, as Mother, is a concept that I have grown to depend upon, most completely, as a mom.  And when I lean my whole weight into trusting it...motherhood becomes burdenless.

This weekend our middle school age daughters will fly to Costa Rica with their classmates for a one week field trip to study the rainforest.  They will board a plane, and go to a place I have never been, and where they won't have phones or computers to stay in touch with.  But I feel completely at peace. 

And I believe that this peace stems from what I know about God's Motherhood.  Why am I able to stay awake all night praying when a child needs me?  Because I have a Mother-God who has taught me how to do this,  by Her example.  Why do I know that love has the capacity to dissipate anger and hate?  Because I have a Mother-God who has always shown me mercy, extended compassion, and established peace...within me.

I know, I am certain...without any doubt...that no matter where my daughters go, or what situation they may find themselves in, they will be with their Mother, and my Mother...God. 

That the great Mother of us all will be there to advise them wisely, provide them with comforting thoughts in the night, hold them and secure them, in secret place of the Most High, and instruct them in Her ways, and bless them according to Her holy purpose for their lives. 

She will mentor every teacher, administrator, and tourguide on that trip, in how to "mother" according to Her model of strength, tenderness, wisdom, and joy.   And not only the "grown ups," She will give each of those students the qualities of motherhood that they will need, moment-by-moment,  to respond to one another patiently, respectfully, and generously. 

I don't have to concern myself with the parenting experience of anyone on that trip.  They have the one and only real expert in mothering with them every step of the way.

I am reminded of the Psalmist's great song of security and peace:

We that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

We will say of the Lord, She is our refuge and our fortress: our God; in Her will we trust.

Surely She shall deliver us from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

She shall cover us with Her feathers, and under Her wings shall we trust:

Her truth shall be our shield and buckler.

We shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
 
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;  nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

Because we have made the Lord, which is our refuge, even the most High, our habitation;

There shall no evil befall us, neither shall any plague come nigh our dwelling.

For She shall give Her angels charge over us, to keep us in all Her ways.

And they shall bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone.

Because She has set Her love upon us, therefore will She deliver us, and set us on high, because we have known Her name.

We will call upon her, and She will answer us,  She will be with us in trouble, and She will deliver us, and honor us.

We are all children, and we are all safe under the shadow of Her wing, resting in the warmth of her hands.

So this Mother's Day,  I am most grateful for the most wonderful Mother of us all....

So sings my soul my Savior God, to Thee....your daughter,

Kate