CLADACH Publishing

God and Creation, Nature Writings, Nurturing Wonder, Poetry

Clouds of Glory

An unseasonably warm winter day (here in Colorado) yesterday prompted my husband and me to go out birding. We took our nature-loving granddaughter with us. We drove toward the mountains west of us, into a little canyon formed by a ridge along which a small creek flows, where an American Woodcock has been spotted (a common bird in some states but a rare visitor in Colorado).

Our granddaughter suddenly exclaimed, “There’s a rainbow cloud. I love rainbow clouds.”

I looked out the car window, and sure enough, all the colors of the rainbow were displayed in this cloud against a blue sky. I’d never before taken notice of such a cloud. Sometimes at dusk the Colorado sky is rimmed all around with clouds glowing orange and pink. This was about 2:45 p.m., though—not even close to sunset. The day was sunny, warm (for February), and dry. Yet this one, lone cloud contained a rainbow. We quickly and excitedly took pictures with our phones. (See photo above.)

The three of us shared a moment of awe and wonder.

I recently read an old book by the Scottish writer and minister, George MacDonald, The Hope of the Gospel. In it, he quoted the poem by William Wordsworth

(To continue reading this post go to my On Paths of Prayer and Poetry blog. This post has been moved there.)

Authentic Faith, Following Jesus, Perseverence, Poetry, Venturing for the Lord

Life As a Journey

by Catherine Lawton • 4 Comments

“Does the road wind up-hill all the way?”

“Yes, to the very end.”

“Does the day’s long journey take the whole long day?”

“From morn to night, my friend.”

This poem by Christina Rossetti has often given me encouragement to keep stepping onward and upward on my own life’s journey. Just recently, Rossetti’s poem came to mind again— when I noticed that many Cladach book titles allude to various aspects and dimensions of this journey called ‘life.’ For instance,

that up-hill road will be an adventure that requires us to WALK, taking one step after another:

As we walk, we will inevitably need to TRUST:

The Journey will require COURAGE:

We may need to RUN (turning from SHAME and toward LOVE):

Our journey may provide ESCAPE and NEW BEGINNINGS:

Our journey may be fraught with DANGERS:

Our journey will involve SEARCHING and FINDING:

We will COME to oases that bid us to STAY awhile, be REFRESHED, experience HEALING, and CELEBRATE:

The journey provides stretches of solitude for PONDERING, CONTEMPLATING, and REMEMBERING:

The journey includes places to PAUSE, let others pass by, and find RENEWED PERSPECTIVE:

Along the journey we may find ourselves PRAYING, PRAISING, even LAMENTING:

Opening our hearts, we will experience Renewed WONDER and Freer IMAGINATIONS:

And the rest of Christina Rossetti’s poem:

But is there for the night a resting-place?

A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labor you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

Yea, beds for all who come.

Answering the Call of Christ, Authentic Faith, Poetry

Courage!

by Catherine Lawton • 0 Comments

“March on, my soul, with might!” (from “Deborah’s Song” – Judges 5:21b)

Sometimes I see a need but hesitate to step in and try to help. After all, who am I? Just little ol’ me. Sometimes I believe I have received a word from the Lord. But would others believe me or accept the word if I shared it?

Then I contemplate a favorite biblical heroine: Deborah (whose story is told in Judges 4 and 5). To me, she is an epitome of faith-filled courage. Deborah acted in ways unheard of (or at least highly unusual) for women in her time. She rose up and provided leadership when male leadership was fearful and hesitant. She had doubters and detractors, I’m sure. But she is immortalized and remembered for her devotion, wisdom, bravery, and leadership.

Deborah is the only female judge of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament. People would come to her for counsel and avail themselves of her wisdom and insights. Evidently, she knew how to listen for God’s “voice.” When she heard from God, she believed and acted with God to respond to a need.

Deborah confronted Barak, the general of the Israelite army, and told him God wanted him to go forth and defeat Sisera, leader of Jabin’s army. Barak, no doubt recognizing and admiring her ardor and courage, answered that he would only fight if she would go with him. Deborah went … and inspired the Israelites to a mighty victory over their oppressors. And, as a musician and poet myself, I love that her rejoicing overflowed in song.

I admire women who let their experience with God embolden them to step into challenges, unfamiliar and perhaps hostile domains, and speak and lead courageously, effectively, and fruitfully. And I respect the men who listen to these women and “ride to battle” with them.

I wrote this poem (below) about Deborah. We can turn to Deborah for inspiration and strength to take courage and do what God is calling us to do, working with God in a way that flows out of our love for God and others.

DEBORAH

A fierce and beautiful woman
who inspired courage in men;
Sought out for wisdom and judgment;
trusted to lead and to win.

A woman who listened and let God
beat on the drum of her heart;
Marching to danger with faith,
speaking God’s words from the start.

Not full of self—neither loathing,
nor doubt nor concern—but aligned.
Giving and going and serving
in front of, beside, and behind.

Sure in times of uncertainty,
faithful when others despair;
Lifting the flagging to valor,
singing the victory aire.

~Catherine Lawton (from Remembering Softly: A Life in Poems)

Image: A 13th Century depiction of Deborah and Barak in the French National Library. Public Domain.

Contemplative, Experiencing peace, Offering HOPE, Poetry, Seasons

The Long Cold Stare of January

by Catherine Lawton • 0 Comments

Contemplative, Inspiration for writers, Nature Writings, Poetry, Seasons

The Truth of Nature

by Catherine Lawton • 2 Comments

“That particular moment will never come again.” –Claude Monet

When I attended the wonderful exhibition of Monet paintings at the Denver Art Museum (fall 2019), I enjoyed viewing up close the originals of many of Monet’s famous paintings. He is known, in part, for painting the same scene in different light, different seasons, and from different angles. You may recall his many colorful and dreamy paintings of his water lily pond or of the haystack series (a few of which are pictured above).

“Above all I wanted to be truthful and exact,” wrote Claude Monet in 1880. “For me a landscape hardly exists at all as a landscape, because its appearance is constantly changing… You have to know how to seize just the right moment in a landscape instantaneously, because that particular moment will never come again, and you’re always wondering if the impression you got was truthful.”

Monet’s observation and intuition describes, in a way, how I feel about the seasons of life and nature. I want to live each day being present to and attentive to the subtle changes of light and shadow, color and shape. I want to let them speak to me, let God speak to me through the truth of the moment, always also watching expectantly for the possibilities of the next moment.

I feel this way about writing a poem as well. The desire to be accurate to the feelings and truth of a moment, to seize and distill it in just the right “colors” and interplay of words to give an impression that expresses truth of “that particular moment” that will never come again in the very same light but which speaks of both the imminent and the transcendent.

One year I made a practice of taking a photo of my pollinator-friendly xeriscape garden, from the same angle every month of the year, to document how it changed, and how differently it presented itself and spoke to me. Some plants come up earlier, some later. Some flowers bloom only in spring; others begin flowering in mid summer. Different species of birds visit the feeders and water bowl in different seasons. The colors of the birds’ plumage changes from duller in the winter to vivid in the spring. Light plays differently on tree leaves and pine boughs as it shines direct and bright from above or paints a golden glow from lower in the sky. One season or time of day does not tell the whole truth of the garden. Just as one visit in one setting doesn’t tell you all about a person or a group of people.

God will speak to us in all seasons and show us different perspectives about the situations, events, and people around us. Take time to consider whether (as Monet said) “the impression you got was truthful.”

I had Monet’s words and my own experiences and observations in mind when I wrote this poem:

NATURE DOESN’T LIE

Nature’s truth presents in facets, angles of

perspective,

changing light,

filtering seasons.

Observe in stages or you won’t know its truth.

You cannot know with

one passing click or

fleeting look.

It doesn’t show you its whole self all at once, so

be still,

listen,

feel.

Recognition, Respect, Revealing come in

mutuality….

Knowing

happens there.

Be present to a flower, tree, or pond, and

gradually it will

be present to you

in truth.

~Catherine Lawton

(poem excerpted from the book, Glimpsing Glory: Poems of Living & Dying, Praying & Playing, Belonging & Longing)

Photos/Art: Wikipedia/public domain

Answering the Call of Christ, Authentic Faith, Engaging Culture, Following Jesus, God working in history

Are We In the Midst of A “New Reformation”?

by Catherine Lawton • 0 Comments

“The fundamentalism of the last century is waning. And the liberalism of the last fifty years has failed to reform the Church.” –Adam Hamilton

If you don’t sense deep, unsettling change in our ways of doing church and being Christians in the world today, then I don’t know what planet you live on, or what church you attend (or have quit attending). I certainly have felt the winds of change, not only as a Christian writer/publisher, but as a church member and a person seeking to live on mission as a Jesus follower today.

My studies at Northwind Seminary (where I received my Masters Degree in Specialized Ministry) guided my thinking to gain a broader perspective on what many are calling “a New Reformation.” You’d be right if you said, “Didn’t we have a Great Reformation already?” But look back through history, and you will see that many times of renewal, revival, awakening, and reform have occurred during periods of upheaval in the world and a mix of self-satisfaction, apathy, and spiritual hunger among Christians.

If you want to be involved in what God is doing in the church and in the world, you pay attention, you listen to the winds of the Spirit; and you join hands, prayers, and efforts with other “listeners.”

In that spirit I want to share Northwind Seminary’s take* on the “New Reformation” we seem to be experiencing:

Ecclesia semper reformanda is a common Latin phrase used by church reformers to remind the people of God that “the church must always be about reforming.” The early Jesus Movement and Apostolic Church, the Imperial Church of the Holy Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, and Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, all had their day and role to play in the growth of the Christian tradition. At least three “Great Awakenings” in the history of American Christianity served to renew the Church at critical times. The “Great Emergence” of new church forms and fresh expressions of ecclesia at the turn of the third Millennium of Christianity served to prepare the way for a Global Church—no longer centered in Europe or America, but growing in the global south, Asia, and Africa. What next ‘new thing’ will the Spirit of God do in the world? What new ways and forms will characterize the next Church?

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; do you not perceive it? –Isaiah 43:19

…Affirming a both/and approach, we affirm the great classical Creeds of the Christian tradition as well as the prophetic radical edge of what it means to follow Jesus today in a postmodern, post-Christian, traumatized world. As Richard Rohr reminds us: “The prophets of old were both radicals and traditionalists. With penetrating insight and wisdom, they saw into the heart of their own tradition and called the people of God to embrace a new day. We shouldn’t be surprised if we find ourselves falling in love with our tradition and wanting to radically change the way things are.”

…“I believe that Christianity is in need of a new reformation,” writes Adam Hamilton….“The fundamentalism of the last century is waning. And the liberalism of the last fifty years” has failed to reform the Church. “The new reformation will be led by people who are able to see the gray in a world of black and white.”

…”The new Reformation,” says theologian Elaine Heath, “is all about the emergence of a generous, hospitable, equitable form of Christian practice that heals the wounds of the world.”

According to Robert J. Duncan, founding president of Northwind Seminary, “The Church is moving from the modern to a postmodern world, fueled by digital media and innovative uses of new technology. We have an opportunity to redeem the technology of the global culture and use it for ministry in the digital age….Electronic circuit riding in the twenty-first century is the new form of evangelism and mission.”

Professor Leonard Sweet identifies an important parallel between the modern and the postmodern Reformations: “If the technology that fueled the Protestant Reformation was the printing press, and the product was ‘The Book,’ the technology that is fueling the Postmodern Reformation is the microprocessor and the product is ‘The Net.’

As a Christian futurist, Professor Sweet adds: “The NextChurch has two challenges: getting clear and clearing out.” Getting clear about who Jesus is and clearing out spiritual deformities that dis-order the church’s structural life and dis-able mission.” In the process, “the role of pastoral leadership is dramatically shifting from representative to participatory models” in the priesthood of believers.

…Professor Thomas Jay Oord sees a light at the end of the revolution. As we walk in God’s light we are becoming all that God has called us to be… as our ever-loving and relational God “guides us, inspires, nurtures, nudges, and coaxes us” into greater creativity and wholeness.

*The entire article, originally written and posted by Michael J. Christensen, can be found here: https://kairos.edu/2023/10/27/partnership-spotlight-northwind-theological-seminary/

and here: https://donkeysdelight.blogspot.com/2023/08/northwind-seminary-shares-its-mission.html

More about Northwind Seminary here: https://www.northwindseminary.org/

The beautiful photo by theologian/photographer Thomas Jay Oord is used with his generous permission.(I added the bolding of phrases.)

On hopeful paths of prayer and poetry,

~Catherine Lawton

Authentic Faith, Book reviews, Memoirs, New Releases

A Captivating Journey through the Stages of a Woman’s Life

by Catherine Lawton • 0 Comments

We received a beautiful letter from Fran Stedman (a British scholar, therapist, and teacher) who lives “across the pond.” She wrote an endorsement of Alice Scott-Ferguson’s memoir, Daughter of the Isles. Regrettably we we had to shorten Fran’s eloquent writing for use as a book cover blurb.

Below I share Fran’s entire review. Though this review doesn’t mention the ministry and multi-cultural parts of Alice’s story (which took place in Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, New York, and Colorado) it does offer a vivid look at Alice herself and the themes of her life. So here are the words of British theologian and psychologist Fran Stedman:

In Daughter of the Isles, Alice Scott-Ferguson takes readers on a captivating journey through the stages of her life. With her exquisite prose and poetry, she skillfully invites us to immerse ourselves in her experiences. Through her vivid descriptions, we can almost smell the fragrances and visualize the picturesque sights she encounters, from the gentle sand fringed bays and towering cliffs of her home island to the enchanting scent of flowers guiding ships to safe harbor.

As we delve into Alice’s story, we become acquainted with compelling characters like Granny Nort, a product of the Victorian era, of fairness, justice, and equality within religious institutions. [Then later we see Alice] fearlessly challenging patriarchal norms. She spearheads initiatives to empower women and helps them find spiritual freedom in their true selves in Christ.

Alice and Jim as a young couple on the sandy beach of Papa Stour in the Shetlands

However, in Daughter of the Isles Alice doesn’t shy away from the painful aspects of her life. She shares her heart wrenching experiences of leaving her idyllic island home at age twelve and the profound grief she felt upon losing her soulmate, Jim, after many decades of marriage. More recently, she faced the devastating loss of a second husband, plunging her into a deep grief once again.

One of the remarkable aspects of this book is the journey of personal growth and spiritual development that Alice takes us on. We witness her transformation from a passionate warrior fighting for women’s empowerment to a serene and confident individual who finds solace in the finished work of Christ.

Alice Scott-Ferguson

The humility she displays in acknowledging the need for new perspectives on God’s grace is a beautiful lesson we can all learn from.

It is a beautifully written memoir that takes readers on a poignant and transformative journey. It is a book that will resonate with those seeking inspiration, spiritual growth, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be fully human.

Fran Stedman combines her time as a teacher of Philosophy, Theology, Ethics and Psychology, and an honorary Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist in a low-cost clinic in Central London, UK. She also runs a private practice offering therapy. Fran is a member of the Center of Open and Relational Theology, and she facilitates local theological discussions as well as thought provoking discourse on existential matters for individuals who may feel uneasy in traditional religious settings. Fran recently collaborated on the co-editing of a book of essays by writers worldwide, Partnering with God. She holds a BA in Psychology, BA (with honors) in Theology and Education, and MA in Political Theology.

Top photo: Max Stoiber / Unsplash

Learn more about the book, Daughter of the Isles HERE.

On hopeful paths of prayer and poetry,

~Catherine Lawton

Humor, Joy of Reading, Poetry, Writing Award

Dogs, Humor and Poetry?

by Catherine Lawton • 2 Comments

My dog Jasper loves taking walks and spending time with me in my gardens. He doesn’t even know he is mentioned in some of my books and poems, but I think he would approve. He would also approve of this fun thing that arrived in the mail this week: a recognition for a humorous canine poem in my mostly otherwise serious collection of poetry, Glimpsing Glory.

Do “humor” and “poetry” go together in your mind?

Well, we might ask, why do we write and read poems, anyway? I found a few famous answers to the question “why poetry?”:

“Poetry calls upon us to probe our deepest emotions and longings.” ~Sharon Olds

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a love sickness.” ~Robert Frost

“People who pray, need to learn poetry.” ~Eugene Peterson

“To elevate the soul, poetry is necessary.” ~Edgar Allen Poe

I think most of my poems in Glimpsing Glory do reflect “a homesickness, a love sickness,” they “probe deepest emotions and longings,” and express a kind of “prayer.” But sometimes we need our hearts lifted and loads lightened as well as our souls elevated, something to help us tilt our heads and look at circumstances with a different perspective. Sometimes everyday experiences cause my sense of humor to erupt in fun poems. When these are included in a volume of poetry, they are like lucky limericks teasing Irish elegies or perky wildflowers surprising in cultivated gardens. These things I find delightful, and I hope my readers do also.

Do you have a favorite humorous poem that brings a smile to your face and quickens your step? Perhaps it’s a folk song or ditty, or a poem like this one for which I received the above recognition:

CANINE SOCIAL MEDIA

My dog, Jasper, reads
pee mail with his nose.
And he’s a dexterous texter
as he lifts four toes.

Some moms dole out tech time;
but me? I give trek time.
Each bush, post, and bench
offers doggy wifi.

When he wiggles and whines
and starts to holler,
I lace up my shoes, click
the links of his collar.

When he meets other dogs, it’s
‘Will you be my friend?
Follow me in the net-erhood,
my hashtag’s a trend.’

Dogs carry screen names
on their behinds;
Cuz that’s where they sniff,
their profiles to find.

With his nose he scans lawns
for the latest chatter
from cute Lily on the corner
or Bruce the Irish Setter.

–Catherine Lawton

Here’s to soul-elevating and prayerful, as well as playful poetry!

~Catherine Lawton

God and Creation, Nature Writings, New Releases, Nurturing Wonder

The Animals In Our Lives

by Catherine Lawton • 6 Comments

Who doesn’t love animals and animal stories!

Photos of furry creatures and social-media videos of cute animal antics … books and movies of animal adventures … these are popular because they evoke feelings of wonder, memories of beloved pets, joy and excitement of wildlife sightings, or sensory experiences of a trip to the farm. Here is what I believe about our relationship to animals:

• Animals are our fellow creatures, loved by the Creator.
• Animals can provide companionship, inspiration, and comfort.
• Animals can teach us about the Creator and how to relate to God.
• Animals provide metaphors of our lives that help us understand ourselves.
• Animals (especially those in the wild) represent elements of Mystery.

God cares for his earthly creatures. He created them, blessed them, called them “good.” He saved the animals from the Flood and then made a covenant with “every living creature.” Many Scriptures display God’s care for animals. Old Testament laws protected animals. Jesus’ parables affirmed and spotlighted them.

In God’s Creatures: A Biblical View of Animals, Susan Bulanda asks: “Is it possible that God has put the desire to care for all animals in the hearts of many people … God’s love for his creation showing through humans?” Later, she adds: “Could there be subtle lessons of love God gives us through our pets?”

I think you will recognize these reciprocal lessons of love—some subtle and some not so subtle—in the stories, poems, anecdotes, and reflections included in this volume.

Sometimes animals are mirrors for us to see ourselves more clearly. I have found my dog to be a barometer of my emotions. His responses tell me when I am getting anxious or when my words sound too harsh; he responds much differently when my tone of voice is sweet and cheerful. It makes me feel bad to see him put his ears back and watch me with a worried expression. It makes me feel good to see him wag his tail and smile at me.

Animals, both wild and domestic, also help us by calling forth our sense of awe. As Thomas Berry has said, we need all of creation, including the animals “to evoke a world of mystery, to evoke the sacred.”

I continually wonder at the wilds of nature that can thrive alongside, often in spite of and struggling to adjust in the midst of, the civilized, tamed, domestic world. When a bird comes close and sings, when a deer steps out of the forest; these surprise sightings thrill. Finding myself sharing space with a wild creature, aware of each other, watching each other even for a moment, is a reminder of not only how different we are, but of what we have in common. Both the animal kind and my kind have breath. We communicate with body language and voice. We walk, run, choose mates, nurture families, search for food, seek shelter. And when we share moments of awareness and attention, the resulting experiential knowledge surely changes or affects us both in some way (hopefully not making us more fearful of each other), perhaps increasing our appreciation of our common creation.

We also share our lives with pets and, sometimes, farm animals. Our human friends learn to accept our animals as “part of the deal.” In a deeper application, the slogan often seen on kitchen towels or plaques, “Love me, love my dog” could, I think, be re-phrased “Love God, love God’s creatures.” Theologians have said as much, and more.

Celtic saint Columbanus exhorted, “Understand, if you want to know the Creator, created things.”
Orthodox scholar Maximus the Confessor taught the idea that creation (as well as Scripture) is God’s book. “God is ‘encoded’ for us in everything he has made. We are surrounded on every side by his ‘letters,’ his ‘analogies’ in creatures….” Our part is to care for, as well as give attention and respect to, the creatures, and even to praise God on their behalf.
Protestant evangelical theologian (and bird watcher) John Stott wrote, “God has given to human beings a midway position between himself and the animals. … In consequence, we combine the dependence on God that is common to all his creatures with a responsible dominion over the [animals] that is unique.”
Catholic writer Charles Camosy adds, “Nearly all theologians now agree that the biblical dominion God has given human beings over creation is not a license to use and dominate, but rather a command to be caretakers and stewards.”

I am thankful for all the dogs, cats, fish, chickens, ducks, birds, as well as the rabbits, squirrels, and deer that have been part of my life at different stages. I have cared for them, learned from them, and shared life with them. Many times when I or my family were facing challenging times, our hearts and spirits were lightened because the animals were there.

God, of course, is always there, everywhere, ever present to us; but God, who is spirit, does not have a corporeal body with skin, hands, and feet. Animals (as well as people) help God help us feel our loving, relational God’s presence.

With all this in mind, I enjoyed compiling, editing (and writing a number of) these often-funny, sometimes sad, and always awe-inspiring experiences with animals. I hope our readers enjoy these stories, too. You may find yourself laughing, crying, and appreciating more than ever God’s creatures, the animals in our lives.

On hopeful paths of prayer and poetry,

~Catherine Lawton

This post first published Jul 29, 2021. It was extracted from the Introduction to the book, The Animals In Our Lives: Stories of Companionship and Awe.The book contains delightful accounts of people with their dogs, cats, sheep, horses, backyard birds, woodland deer, and many other creatures. Our animals—pets, farm animals, and wildlife—inspire our awe, entertain us, help us, teach us, play with us, mourn with us, even work with us. Any animal lover will enjoy this very readable book.

Healing & Wholeness, Memoirs, Mothers, Relationships

God’s Love Never Fails but Mother’s Love Might

by Catherine Lawton • 0 Comments

What is “mother love”?

For me, mother love first felt like a baptism washing over me and flooding my heart when I held my newborn baby in my arms. I fed that child when she was hungry, washed, clothed, carried, rocked, protected, trained, enfolded, and then released her. And while I identify with the words of the Irish poet, “Lord, thou art hard on mothers: We suffer in their coming and in their going,”¹ I believe that mother love seldom dwells on the pain or counts the cost. Instead, this caring, nurturing, self-sacrificing force “protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres”² on behalf of this miracle of life, this product of our own body, this heaven-sent mystery of a helpless suckling developing into independent womanhood (or manhood) in their own right.

Sadly, along the way, many obstacles may arise to block the effective expression of mother love. “Although most mothers instinctively love their children, learning to properly nurture them is a process,” wrote Grace Ketterman.³ When that process is sabotaged, Mother love doesn’t come easy; it isn’t expressed in healthy ways; and though the mother may feel it, she may not communicate to her children in a way they can receive the secure attachment the child needs.

Mothers (and fathers) aren’t perfect; we all make mistakes. And we were all parented imperfectly. But we each go through our entire lives being the child of our parents.

The Lord in infinite wisdom designed us in such a way that we continue to carry within us the child we were. What, then, do we do with this inner child who is forever part of us? What about the times she cries, feels neglected, forsaken, or fearful … when trauma has occurred and/or when her emotional needs have not been met in healthy ways? Francis and Judith MacNutt, of Christian Healing Ministries, state,

“Unfortunately, in our fallen humanity, there are no perfect parents. Subsequently, many people carry wounds or voids they incurred early in life from one or both of their parents, such as unmet needs, absence, neglect, harsh words, or abusive behavior … Nevertheless, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord can go back and fill in any of those wounds with his perfect love.”⁴

Like all other parts of our selves, we bring that inner child to Jesus. We let Jesus love that child. His presence begins a process, an unfolding of acceptance, nurturing, healing, trust (and for some this process requires professional counseling/therapy, as in the case of Janyne McConnaughey, author of Jeannie’s Brave Childhood). It is possible to begin to experience joyful wholeness in our relationships.

Much has been written about “father wounds.” But our mothers are in many ways the ground of our beings. “Mother is the home we come from. She is nature, soil, ocean,” said psychologist Erich Fromm.⁵ Mother love goes deep; and mother wounds go deep.

The Bible describes God’s nurturing character in terms of mother love:

“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13a, NRSV).
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15).
“I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them” (Hosea 11:4).
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4a).
“He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft … (Deuteronomy 32:10b-11).

And Jesus, as recorded in the gospels, said, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings….” (Luke 13:34).

In the book Journeys to Mother Love nine women writers representing four generations share personal stories of difficult and challenging mother-love journeys. They come from various backgrounds and places. One woman felt all her life the impact of being the lesser-loved sibling until finally, after many years, she found it in her heart to be thankful for both her favored brother and her mother. Another young woman had difficulty showing love to her little children until she was healed of the memories of an earlier abortion, and until she forgave herself and experienced a heart connection with the aborted baby. A third woman was distanced from her mother because of her fear of being like her, until she was enabled to see her mother in new light and to serve her in new ways. More than one story touches on the concept of generational patterns that needed to be broken in order to allow a new way of mother-child relating.

These personal memoirs, one of which I wrote, are testimonies of God’s grace. They don’t offer pat answers. The stories are simply and openly told in hopes that many readers—mothers and daughters alike—will be helped. We believe the power of prayer, the Word of God, the working of the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ are transforming every area of our lives. So we offer hope by sharing what helped us and what may renew your relationships as well.

Because God’s own nurturing, protective, life-giving love is exemplified in the love of a mother for her child, I believe the Lord desires to work in our mother-child relationships to make them a more true representation, a clearer picture of his love. He makes a way for us to experience deep healing even—as the experiences of these nine women illustrate—when death, disease, disobedience, or distance has separated us from our mothers.

God’s love—often made tangible in mother love—is that strong!

On hopeful paths of prayer and poetry,

~Catherine Lawton

This post is a revision of the Introduction to the book:

Notes:

1. From “The Mother” by Padraig Pearse, in A Little Book of Irish Verse (Belfast: Appletree Press, 1991), p. 51.
2. 1 Corinthians 13:7
3. Grace Ketterman, Call Me Blessed: Becoming a Mother of Honor (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press), 1997, p. 3.
4. http://christianhealingmin.net/prayer-ministry14/sample-prayers/291-a-mothers-blessing
5. Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving, (Harper & Row, 1956, HarperCollins, 1984, Harper Perennial Modern Classic, 2006), p. 38.

Page 3 of 15

« 1 2 3 4 5 … 15 »