“Can a woman forget her
nursing child, and not have compassion on the child of her womb? Surely
they may forget. Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on
the palms of My hands…” (Isaiah 49:15-16)
There are needs in life that we all have. Some
might do dangerous things, but the wild and dangerous person also tries
to CONTROL what happens. People try to have fun and seem to be wild and
free, but also, he or she will likely try to be SAFE within certain
limits, all at the same time. People have the need to be ADMIRED and
many get so involved with the need that when they succeed and are
admired for something or other, they get mixed up, thinking that if
they’re admired, that’s love. It’s actually narcissism, not love, but so
many want to BE loved, not really caring or understanding that others
need love as well.
We can get confused about what will give us
security and safety, thinking that MONEY will provide the admiration,
security and love needed by those in humanity. We should note that money
is made from paper and if we build our house out of paper, it definitely
will not last. We make money, but will lose it, and what’s left of it
will go to somebody else.
Men are less likely than women to understand the
gifts that the Lord has given us. If a woman is brought into a man’s
life by the grace of God, there is the potential for JOY in delighting
her, loving her and letting her know how wonderful she is. But all too
often men want to BE loved more than they want to give love. Giving to
her can be like a sales campaign, and the campaign to win her heart is
all too often over when she says “Yes!” Actually the need to please her
truly BEGINS at that point, and it’s a truth for both of them. Happiness
in marriage or in anything else is not achieved by demanding love from
the other, but instead happiness for you is actually found by producing
joy in the one you love.
It’s interesting that women often understand
more than men do. Women give love, feel love, and if the children of a
marriage have a chance to find needed feelings of security and safety,
it’s often the Mom who makes them feel that way. All too often
historically the man is gone; to war, to his job, is immersed in some
project or he is gone for good.
In today’s Scripture, the question is asked, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” and the answer
through the centuries, through the millennia, has been – NO! It’s often
the woman who brings the love we all need. But humanity is degenerating
in its attempt to be “modern,” and women of today care less about the
gifts of God in our lives. Children, less-and-less are thought of as a
“blessing,” and more-and-more as an impediment to careers. An unborn
child is labeled as a “fetus,” which is defined as some kind of
disposable bodily tissue. We pretend like the children we are, also
pretending we are mature adults making rational decisions.
It is God who brings the wife to the man and him
to her. He offers us the gift of love and when the two go their separate
ways, it is because we have failed to see the other’s need to be loved,
focusing instead on ourselves. And the child, the children. A great need
for individual human beings is to become part of the creative process.
To invent something that will be significant and meaningful; something
that will be remembered after you are gone. Better than fame or money or
power or significance is the creation of a child, a human being and then
nurturing them, encouraging them to be everything they can be.
And yet, though women have shown notable love
for their children, the Scripture for today includes the sad note, but “surely they may forget.” We live in a time when women
no longer wait for their men to come home and march with them in the
creation of a home, in the nurturing of children and the forming of
lives into one, through the power and the wonder of love. Women want to
be loved, too, and are saying, “my children can wait – it’s me first.”
As said before, throughout history, men have
marched off to war, following some kind of dream or have just decided to not
go home. But now, more and more women have decided to become like their
men. Instead of caring for others, they look out for themselves.
Did you mother love you? If so, you are blessed
by God and you should thank Him every day. And the best way to say
“Thank You” is to pass that love on. Take the risk of loving your
spouse, your child, giving up your life for someone else, instead of
forcing them to give up their lives for you. Love is a legacy that can
LAST! If you didn’t feel loved as a child, you have the opportunity to
give someone else the love you did not have. And amazingly, when you
give honest, pure, wholesome love, your very being will radiate with the
love you have always wanted and needed. As St. Francis taught us, “it is in giving that we receive.”
To overcome through effort our anger at what was not done for
us is actually impossible. If we were abused and neglected, we tend to
raise angry children who will do the same, extending selfish anger to
another generation. A need for love turned into anger is a sad reality
for many and the only cure, our only hope is reflected in today’s
Scripture.
The love we cannot effectively give, the love
that most don’t even WANT to give becomes possible when our lives are
given over to the Lord. He is the God of miracles who can and will
change you and me for the better, in ways we will actually LIKE.
He knows your name. More than merely knowing
about you, He knew YOU, before you even existed. He carefully fashioned
you in your mother’s womb. He has protected you more times than you can
imagine. Even our so-called “faults” have been carefully allowed, with
the intention that all of us will be drawn out of the ashes of our
failures into new life. As He says, “I will never
forget you.”
We are given amazing words of love,
written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, who was to die a
terrible death as the remedy for our sins: “See,"
He said, "I
have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16).
Scholars recently have said that crucifixion did not involve the hands,
but instead the terrible nails went through the wrists. But it was
revealed to Isaiah the prophet that the "hands"
of our Savior would be pierced for our sins. It was also revealed to
David, who foretold the thought of Jesus: “They
have pierced My hands and feet” (Psalm 22:16). They tied His
wrists to the wood and pierced His hands with nails. He literally loved
you to death, His death, and He did it so you will become able to love.
Dear Lord, forgive me for my selfishness, my
refusal to love as You have intended. I cannot do it, Lord; I can only
come to You and say – please help me. Thank You for loving me so much
that You died for me. I entrust my heart, my life to You. Teach me to
love. In Jesus Name. Amen.
