Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49: 15, 16
I recall when I was growing up and becoming a young woman, there was a crazy stage of our lives when one of my friends or I would become infatuated with a particular boy in class or at church. The boy would not even know that a particular girl was in love with him, yet the girl would inscribe the boy’s name in the palm of the hand. Not just any ordinary inscription. It would be artistically done with fancy letters and beautiful colours. Each time a girl thought of the boy, she would look at the inscription and smile. The secret admirer and her inner circle of friends were the only ones who knew. Surprisingly though the love was often short-lived, with affections shifting at an alarmingly fast rate to the next more handsome guy who came along.
I recall also the time I fell pregnant. Although I lost the baby at six months term of the pregnancy, I had felt the baby’s movements and seen pictures of him on the ultrasound screen. I anticipated the day I would hold that baby in my arms. I was heartbroken when the baby came too early and could not be saved. This happened to me one more time before I could finally have my first living child. My joy was fulfilled the day that I held my son, Jabu, in my arms for the first time. The joy I felt when I gave him my milk for the first time! I would spend long hours just gazing at him with love and wonder. Finally I understood what it meant to be a mother. I have experienced this same exhilaration three more times after my first son, giving birth to three more boys after him. Each one of them came in his own style and each one took my heart away in his own way. Motherhood has been the ultimate joyful experience of my life and continues to be.
Contrast this with a story that I have read in the newspapers and seen on television news so often. A mother gives birth to a child, boy or girl, and feels so overwhelmed by life’s circumstances that they kill the child or dumps it in a dustbin. Having experienced the loss of a child and facing the uncertainty of not knowing if I would ever be able to one day carry a baby to full term; I cannot understand how a mother can do such a thing. Also having experienced the joy of labour and finally holding a live baby in my arms I still cannot understand how a mother can do such a thing.
The bond between mother and child is the strongest that I know and the love of a mother for a child is the sincerest that I know of all human relationships. Yet God says it is still possible for a mother to forget her nursing child, and to have no compassion for the son of her womb. The dumped babies, the neglected children bear testimony to that. God promises that even if the strongest love known to man cannot be relied upon, His love for us will never fade. He will never forget each one of us. Better than the infatuated girl who inscribes the boy of the moment’s name and soon forgets about him when a better looking one comes along, the inscription of our names in the palm of His hands are permanent.
I imagine God looking at his hand, seeing my name artistically and lovingly inscribed in multiple colours, I imagine Him smiling to Himself because the name of the object of His affections is in front of Him. That really reminds me that I am special. That the God of the universe cares for me to that extent reminds me to pull back my shoulders, hold my head high and face life’s challenges upfront. For a moment I may have been down from the devil’s blows but if he thought I was knocked out he better think again. This imagery keeps me going and helps me to smile when I should be crying, to continue to give when the world just keeps taking from me, to be gentle with those who are rough and inconsiderate, to be graceful when I am exhausted. Only that promise from the Creator Himself sustains me.
There are many women, mothers, and young girls and even men out there in the world from whom the world has taken more than its share physically, emotionally and spiritually. I want you to go to a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for a while. Close your eyes and imagine God sitting on His Heavenly throne. Imagine the angels falling prostrate in worship before Him. He sees all that, but above all, He is looking into His palm, there is a smile on His face, He is toying around the palm with His finger, reading your name there, caressing every letter, longing to one day meet with you face to face. How does that make you feel? It’s not just a feeling, it’s a fact. God loves you and promises to never leave you alone. No matter how much the devil thinks he has battered you, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and receive God’s love. Put your best foot forward and believe that the best is yet to come.
Lord I pray for each woman, young or old who has just read this passage. Each one of us faces challenges at different levels. Some are working mothers who juggle home and career demands and the devil keeps pointing an accusatory finger at them. Some are housewives who are giving their best but feel unappreciated and unrecognised. Some are young women who have made choices that they are not particularly proud of and again Satan reminds them daily of their failures, making them feel desperately unworthy. Some are women, young and old, who have been sexually abused and have lived with the shame, not breathing a word to a single soul, but daily haunted by the reality of it all. Some are women taking care of terminally ill relatives or spouses, even though exhausted from the effort they have to keep going. Some are living with unfaithful spouses and they do not know whether to leave or stay. Some harbour such deep emotional wounds from verbal and emotional abuse. Others worry about wayward children who have wandered away from the principles they gave. Yet others mourn children whom death robbed them of just as they were budding. Others have lost their husbands to death or infidelity. No matter what each woman’s challenge Lord, I pray that you visit each one and meet them at their point of need. Heal the wounds that time has dealt them. Constantly remind each one through your Holy Spirit just how special they are. Help them see beyond the challenge. Give them strength and courage to pick up the pieces and move on knowing in Whom they believe, the same One who holds the future in His hands. AMEN
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