God-mothers
If you are not a mom, you might be tempted to tune out Mother’s Day. Or perhaps, the day is just about planning—with cards purchased and flowers ordered and reservations made.
But don’t tune out.
I am thinking of Mother’s Day cards that I gave to Ms. Mabry in the fifth grade and she didn’t furrow her brow. And I think about when I was a little kid and when I would pray at night, I would pray for my mommy and daddy and my other mommy and daddy and my other mommy and daddy because I had all these people in my life who I thought of in this way and my parents were not offended. Why? They were just grateful that I had such a strong sense of affection and a sense that there were all these people who were caring for me and loving me.
I am talking about my God-mothers. It’s not necessarily as if you were baptized as an infant and the person who stood there to take responsibility for you if needed. It is a different reality than that. It’s the actual people who lead us to understand who God is and lead us into deeper relationships with him. Those are our God-mothers.
I’ve got a friend named John McWhirter— his mom, Camille, is one of my godmothers. She was a person when I was in high school, shepherded my heart in my life. Kathy Conner is another one. She’s not old enough to be my mom, but she was a God-mother in my life, particularly when I was in high school. Virginia Morris, when I was in college (and her husband Robert was also one of my mentors)— but Virginia was absolutely a godmother to me. I learned a whole lot about being a godly woman from the pattern of her life and the way that she walked.
So once upon a time I wrote a book, it’s called Speak the Truth, and the dedication page says,
“This book is dedicated to the women who in many ways I aspire to become— my mother, RuthAnn and her mother, Robina. My grandmother’s wisdom, dignity, perseverance, and love, continue to bear the light of Christ into the world through a legacy of faith that now extends to the third and fourth generations. My mother’s indomitable character and can-do spirit and winsome ability to discover and nurture the best in others have provided a consistent vision throughout my life of an Imago Dei woman. I would not be the person I am today, were it not for the maternal heritage with which I have been blessed. Mom, thanks for calling me to a life of significance and for the example you have set every day, you wouldn’t be you if it weren’t for grandma and I wouldn’t be me if it weren’t for you. Thank you for leading me to expect the unexpected and anticipate miracles, confident that with God all things are possible.”
So, who is the woman or who are the women who you should reach out to? Send them a text message, send them a physical card if you want to. Maybe it is your mom, maybe it is a person who took on the role of a mom in your life.
This is much more than greeting-card sentimentality— this is the way Jesus created the special Kingdom-community on earth, called the Church. There is a redefinition of family in a way that transcends biological relationships when we talk about the theology of adoption and the Christian family of faith.
In Mark 3, Jesus’s mom and brothers come and try to fetch him and Jesus says to the crowd, who are my mother and my brothers? Those who do the will of the Father in heaven are my brother and my sister and my mother.
In Christ, we are spiritual daughters, and mothers and grandmothers. For those who are further along the path with Jesus, we are to be “raising” spiritual children with our lives.
On this Mother’s Day, consider who are those women of faith in your life— who are your “God-mothers”? And who are those people in your life God is calling you to spiritually mother?
