In His Image

I realize that not everyone had the best of mothers to raise them.  I just know that I did.  My mother was my biggest fan, my hardest critic, and yet, as I got older, my closest friend.  I can remember my sister sharing one time when I complained about how Mom always told me I needed a trip to the beauty shop that she always made a special trip before she went home to avoid that lecture.  My mother wanted the best for us.  She always encouraged us to put our best foot forward.  She believed in us but she also wanted to help us believe it too.

I can’t begin to describe the chasm that was left in my heart when my mother passed away from cancer.  I guess part of that grief was the realization of how entrenched she was in all that I did as I had not allowed anyone else into that depth of my life.  She knew instinctively when I was struggling. more than that, though, it was uncanny how she also knew when to let it go and when to ask me if I was going to share whatever “it” was.  I can remember when I chose not to share but discussed “it” later she would reply – “Well I knew something was up but I knew you’d get through it”. 

I am convinced that good mothers truly do have an intuition about their children.   Your children are a part of you in so many ways.  I knew my mother was vested in all that I did but I also chose to share so much with her as a result.  No wonder she meant so much to me.  No wonder it took so long to bounce back after I lost her to cancer.  

I was reading a book recently that has truly opened up another door in my relationship with God.   We all know that we are made in the image of God.  But I’m not sure I’ve internalized what that means?  I suppose I thought of that in a physical sense.  We know that man was made first and God saw that man should not be alone.  In other words, he was lacking something God did not give him on purpose. He needed other things to help him in this life.  So, in his infinite wisdom, He created a woman from Man’s rib to be his help mate.  We are  aware of the many traits men have.   God gave woman Adam’s rib but He then gave her different traits of Himself on purpose to help man.  Not to stand behind him but to stand with him.  There have been many an exasperated conversation over the differences between a man and a woman.  However, no one can deny that God did this on purpose. 

Here’s the recent kicker for me, though:  God gave woman the traits that make her a nurturer.  Woman is instinctively in touch with emotions and relationships.  In His image means that these traits are also a part of God’s character.  The God of the universe – who parts the Red Sea – who judges and allows consequences to sin – wants to be invested in and nurture me the way my mother did.  He can handle all of these traits that frustrate my male counter parts because He understands that within Himself.   

I cling to God when friends, family or I are sick or struggling with things in prayer.  Those big things we just can’t manage on our own.  I’ve seen Him move in those situations and it’s always praise and awe-inducing.   We need to know that He’s there especially during these hard times. I’ve wondered as a widow and a woman how God could truly heal the loss and other hurts in my past.  I realize now – These traits He gave my mother?  He also has!  But, if I want to be healed from the hurts in my life, I need to open up and let Him become invested in me the way my mother was.   That choice though is mine.

So recently I’ve started sharing with Him the way I did with mom.  To invest in seeking Him the way I did with her.   He’s responding but more than that, I’m realizing that He’s interested in so much more than I even realized.  I’m not sure why I hold that stuff back.  Just like my mother, He already knows and is wondering when I’m going to talk about it with Him.  And that means everything to me.