When I Call God, Mother

Sunday Morning Revelation:

Whenever I hear a church leader or reader refer to God or the Holy Spirit as Her or She, I think, YES!. Sometimes, I do the same or say “Mother” or “Creator” instead of “Father.” I do not do this to exclude men or masculinity. Men and masculinity are equally important with women and the feminine. My growing understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement has helped me realize a parallel. For a very long time, the Christian church has been dominated by a male hierarchy. At the time the Bible was written, women were considered property. Women have had to fight for the right to vote, own property, and make their own decisions. In some churches, women are still not allowed to be priests or ministers. Yes, men are important. Yes, all lives matter. But for much of history, black lives have not mattered. For much of human history, women’s lives have not mattered. When I refer to God as She, Her, Mother, or Creator, I am not trying to exclude men, I am trying to create my own sense of balance. God is bigger than gender or race. God is inclusive. God is all colors.

Take Two on Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Being Real

I typed up a post following the prompt, starting with his and ending with her for bonus points. It was about God being beyond gender. But I just don’t know if I can post that one. My heart hurts for the 17 who were killed at the Florida high school by a shooter with an automatic weapon. My heart hurts for their families and for the world – that this keeps on happening. I’ve read the FBI knew about social media threats made by the shooter and former student. Shouldn’t that have been enough to investigate? To search his home? I go back and forth between enjoying being outside, puttering around the yard, and wanting to flee. Part of me wants to fight this evil, this sickness. And part of me wants to not think about it. I’m tired of this happening. Of course we all are. I guess I’m feeling despair. I know I will be okay, and that I’ll fight this darkness in some small ways. I’ll keep volunteering at the school and talking and writing about peace. But it seems so not enough. I’m usually hopeful. Optimistic. Just not right now.

My original post was about how I’ve been conditioned to think of God as Him, because the Bible was written during a time when males were in control and women were not valued. Are men still in control? Is it always males who do these shootings? It seems like that. I’m sorry, men. I know there are many of you out there and in my life who are good and decent and loving. But maybe it’s time for the nurturing, maternal, feminine side to bring balance and healing to the violence of this world.

Maybe I’ll refer more often to God as her. I used to think of this as rebellious. But now, I see it more as being authentic.

Here’s the picture I was going to use for my original post. I’m putting it here because I think I need some light.

I know there’s still a lot of goodness and beauty in the world. I won’t let the darkness swallow me up. I will find my light and let it shine.

For more information on the Saturday Stream of Consciousness, visit Linda at:

https://lindaghill.com/2018/02/16/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-17-18/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!