A Mother's Love by Rev. Teresa Stuefloten M.Div, 5/11/205

Good Morning everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, step-mothers, foster mothers, and all who play the role of mother.

What are the characteristics we think of when we think of a mother? A mother is loving, nurturing, kind, caring, and comforting, making sure her children are clean, fed, and clothed. A mother is a teacher for her children, their first teacher. A mother teaches her children right behavior and is sometimes a disciplinarian. A mother loves her children even when they make mistakes. These are the characteristics we all desire and hope for in a mother. Some people have a mother who is not able to embody these characteristics for various reasons, and that can be a source of pain.

There is a mother who is always loving, nurturing, kind, caring and comforting. Who is that mother? Divine Mother. God has no gender. God is beyond gender. God is neither male nor female. Or it could be said that God is both male and female. The nurturing aspects of God can be thought of as Divine Mother, the Divine Feminine. In the Bible, Jesus refers to God as Father, because he is coming from the perspective of the Jewish patriarchal society that he grew up in and lived in. But God is truly our Divine Mother and Father.

In the Catholic and Orthodox religions, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus is revered as a Divine Mother. She is “Our Mother,” the “Blessed Mother,” the “Holy Mother” and she is prayed to and asked for intersession. Devotion to Mary is deep and goes back to at least the 3rd century. The Hail Mary is a popular form of prayer.

The story of Hannah and her son Samuel, is a powerful example in the Bible of a mother's love and devotion to God. Hannah, unable to conceive and grieving, pleaded with God for a son, promising to dedicate him to God's service if God blessed her. After conceiving and bearing Samuel, when he was weaned from her breast, she fulfilled her vow by bringing him to the temple at Shiloh to be mentored by Eli, the priest, and cared for by Eli’s family. Samuel must have been quite young at the time, so this act of love and dedication demonstrates a mother's willingness to sacrifice for her child's future and commitment to God. Imagine her tears, but what a gift she gave her son. (Samuel 1-2)

Divine Mother is also referred to as the Divine Feminine. In embracing the the power of the Divine Feminine, women have embraced roles that had been denied to them as ministers and spiritual leaders. This is especially true of New Thought religions, like our Divine Science, Unity, Science of Mind and others.

Divine Mother is a creator, a symbol of fertility. God created all that is in manifestation, including you and me. We are Divine beings, created in the image and likeness of God, our Divine Mother-Father. The Divine wants only the highest for us, but we have free will. We, too are creators, bringing forth our thoughts and ideas into manifestation. That is why we need to keep watch on our consciousness, on our habitual thoughts, because we are creating in every moment, whether we realize it or not. What we put our focus on is what we create. Focus on love and you will create love. Focus on prosperity and you will create prosperity. Focus on peace and you will create peace. Focus on health and you will create health.

We live on our Mother Earth, Gaia. She protects, provides for, and sustains us with her body and her resources. Mother Earth is like a womb, giving birth to life. Mother Nature is another name for earth mother, caring for the plants and animals. Just as we have a responsibility to care for our human mother when we are grown and she is unable to care for herself, we also have a responsibility to care for our Mother Earth, doing for her what she is unable to do for herself. We are responsible for keeping her air and water clean and healthy, and using her resources wisely, not taking more than is necessary.

The following is a story from riastoryteller.com

“The Creation Story of Mother Earth”

A long time ago,

Before the oldest woman was born,

Before the oldest tree was a seed,

Before the oldest mountain was formed…

It was during the times that Mother Earth didn’t have a body, she was still a beautiful spirit traveling in the endless space.

One day Mother Earth knew that she wanted to have a body - a body that would be the perfect place for her future children to live on. But, what would that body look like? She didn’t know, all she could feel was the enormous love for her children that one day would live on her body. She was wondering and wondering, and then…

A beautiful spirit, all covered in bright blue scarves, that were moving like gentle waves around her, was flying towards her, she was the spirit of the water - emissary of grandma moon.

She came to Mother Earth and told her “Cover your body with water - great oceans with waves and endless depths. That would be the best body for your children - the water would be constantly moving and changing, and your children would enjoy the endless dance of the waves. They would have magical depths to explore and the light of grandma moon would sparkle on your water…”

Mother Earth was so touched by this idea “Cover myself in water, waves, movement and depths… it’s such a lovely idea”, yet, she felt that there was still something missing…” So she kept wandering, while feeling the great love that was in her…

Then the spirit of the squirrel came, he was sent by the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life stands in the centre of the universe and connects the three worlds and all that is around. The spirit of the squirrel came to Mother Earth and told her, “Cover your body with trees, forests and jungles- tall trees, wide trees – oaks, pines, beeches, hawthorns and yews – cover yourself with bushes, grass and herbs - that would be the perfect body for your children, everything would be lively, lush and vibrant, and your children would be able to live between the roots, around the trunks or up on the branches, everything around them would be green and vibrant, and you would have the avatars of the Tree of Life clinging their roots to your body”.

Mother Earth was thrilled by the idea - She imagined herself all covered with a rustle of leaves and green beauty. yet, she still felt that there was something missing and she didn’t know what…

She knew what she wanted, she wanted her children to have a perfect home, she wanted a body that would represent her love for them, and kept wondering what type of body would it be.

The third to come was the desert spirit, she came from the furthest and the most remote realms of the universe. she was all covered in yellow, brown and orange translucent mantles, surrounded by mystery.

She flew silently and gently towards Mother Earth and told her “Don’t cover your body with anything, leave it bare and naked - desert, stones and rocks, dunes of yellow sand, winds that blow upon your skin- in this way, your children would always be close to you, feel your body, without anything to divide them from you…”

Mother Earth was enchanted by this suggestion, how wonderful it would be, simple and naked, skin to skin with her children…, yet, she still felt that there was something missing…

Then came the spirit of the butterfly, flying gently with beautiful, colorful wings towards Mother Earth - she came from dimensions of beauty that shine in the eternal space… “Cover your body with flowers, in every color and shape – blue and red, yellow and pink, purple, orange and more, and deep in your body grow shiny crystals of many colors… in this way, your children would always be surrounded by beauty and colors, and your body would be a place of joy and celebrations…”

Mother Earth was completely captivated by this suggestion, how blissful it would be, wearing all the colors while hugging her children with beauty – that would be wonderful!

Yet, still, she felt that this was not exactly what she was wishing for…

She kept wondering and wondering, feeling so strongly the enormous love she had.

And this love was a fire, magical fire of love gleaming in her. And the more she was wondering, the more this fire grew, it grew and grew, more and more till she turned into a huge blazing fire ball, and this fire was all that she was, a huge fire of love, burning, gleaming and radiating love.

The four emissaries looked at her, mesmerized by the beauty, completely enchanted…. and in one moment they dived into the fire and disappeared in the love.

Then, the fire started to diminish, slowly slowly, till it turned into a ball of ever-glowing fire of love, deep inside of Mother Earth.

Only then Mother Earth opened her eyes and looked at her body – she was covered with oceans - waves and depths, between the oceans, lay lands - covered with trees and full of life, in other parts she saw that her body was completely bare - wide landscapes of deserts, dunes and rocks, and between all of that – flowers, in every color and shape, flowers on the land, flowers on the trees, flowers in the oceans and deep within her, flowers of crystals.

Mother Earth was so excited to see her body, it was all she could wish for, and it was a body of love, a perfect place for her children to live.

Her heart was so full of joy and satisfaction that one teardrop fell slowly from her eyes. At that moment the sun rose for the first time - we always get from the outside what we have inside, and she had a ball of fire in her…

When the sun shone upon the tear of Mother Earth, the first rainbow appeared.

And since that time till our days, there is an ever-glowing fire ball of love deep in the body of our mother, and we can still enjoy the wonderful world she created for us.

“The End”

Isn’t that a beautiful story? The Divine created a beautiful planet for us to experience this human incarnation, learning and growing spiritually. If we can all learn to live together peacefully on our beautiful Mother Earth, we will have heaven on Earth.

Mothers around the world give their all and sacrifice for their children. In searching for stories of a mother’s love, I found some amazing examples, including the following.

Linda Owens has officially fostered 81 babies after recently acquiring a 7-week-old baby girl into her care.

Owens, a 78-year-old retired grocery department manager, is one of the longest-serving foster moms in the Alameda County. She has been fostering for 34 years.

Many of the newborns that come to her have complications: some were exposed to drugs when exiting the womb, some have developmental delays, and many do not sleep through the night. Owens has loved every child she has been given.

“This is what God’s handed me a gift to do,” said Owens, who has enjoyed raising babies since childhood.

Mia Buckner-Preston, the Placement Division Director of the Alameda County Department of Children & Family Services, has nothing but praise for Owens. “Her experience, the care, the love she provides to the babies, it’s immeasurable. She’s in a category almost all by herself.”

Owens has remembered every child she has fostered. The oldest is now 37. (lovebutton.org)

Another amazing mother is Rosy Gil:

Local street vendor Roselia “Rosy” Gil has fed Los Angeles’s LGBTQ+ community for years by saving countless patrons from going to sleep without eating.

Sixteen years ago, Gil decided to set her vending cart outside of a local gay bar, a location nobody was selling at. Gil came from Guatemala, a country where people could be killed for being in the LGBTQ+ community, so she made sure to accept all her customers with open arms. After serving the same location for years, she considered all the regulars her family, and her regulars loved her back.

When COVID-19 hit, Gil’s business halted. With no money coming in, the mother found herself unable to continue putting her 26-year-old son through college. She also could not send her 82-year-old mother back in Guatemala money for food and medicine.

Once LA’s queer community heard about Gil’s situation, they all decided to pitch in and help their favorite vendor.

A GoFundMe was posted, and Gil’s regulars donated $40,000 for her and her family.

“Even though Rosy is not LGBTQ+, she is a part of our community,” one of the donators, Victor Rodriguez, said. “She not only fed our people but fed us with love… She’s a wonderful person and we want her around.

“She’s the sweetest loveliest woman ever. People loved her, all you hear coming out her mouth is ‘ayo amigo!’ cuz she knew everyone and everyone knew her. She’s been an important part without anybody realizing.” (lovebutton.org).

What lovely examples of a mother’s love these two women are, sharing their love and caring for those who need them. Their kindness and caring impact the lives of others in a deep way. They are examples of the Christ Love in action.

We don’t need a biological connection to treat others like family. We can be spiritual family with anyone. We can embody the mothering characteristics, loving, nurturing and caring for others, no matter what our age or gender. When we do this we let our Christ Light shine brightly for all to see.

I was fortunate that my own mother, Joyce Marie, was an example of Christ Love. When I became pregnant at 17, she stood by me and supported me. She was my loving advocate my entire life, and a wonderful grandmother and great-grandmother. I still miss her and am grateful that she was a my mother.

I will end with a sweet story of a mother’s love I found online.

The article begins, quote:

“This is one of the most beautiful stories about mothers love. It was written for Good Housekeeping Magazine in 1933 by Temple Bailey. ”

The story begins:

"Is this the long way?" asked the young mother as she set her foot on the path of life. And the Guide said:

"Yes, and the way is hard, and you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

The young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed them, taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike, and reminded them to feed the dog and do their homework and brush their teeth. The sun shone on them and the young mother cried,

"Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path was sometimes dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her arms. The children said,

"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children,

"A little patience and we are there."

So the children climbed and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms. And with this, she gave them strength to face the world. Year after year she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, but most of all unconditional love. And when they reached the top they said,

"Mother, we could not have done it without you."

The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years. The mother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And the mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said:

"This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned so much and are now passing these traits on to their children."

And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, and gave her strength, just as she had given them hers. One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And Mother said,

"I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with their heads held high, and so can their children after them." And the children said,

"You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said,

"We cannot see her, but she is with us still." A mother is more than a memory. She is a living presence. Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.

She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is your birthday morning. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop.

A mother shows through in every emotion - happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow - and all the while hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life.

She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, not space - not even death!” (End of quote)

(https://www.inspirational-short-stories.com/mothers-love.html)

And so it is! Share your love and caring with someone today. Happy Mother’s Day!