I did not always feel that way… that He was my father in heaven.

“Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:47-48.

I love this passage! I relate to this woman more than most women in the Bible, for many reasons. Maybe I should backtrack a little. In my youth, my relationship with our Lord was relatively immature and significantly influenced by the Old Testament. God was a distant, scary judge and eternal life seemed impossible to achieve. It took longer than I can admit for my relationship with Christ to mature from “accused” to “daughter.”

When Jesus calls her “daughter,” I feel He is speaking to me as well.

My Savior, My Lord, My Father who art in heaven.

This woman’s humility astounds me, and her faith can move mountains! She was confident that even by touching the hem of His garment, she would be healed. There are days where I am barely holding on, by a thin thread, to the thread of His garment, and yet, He never ceases to call me ‘daughter”. I pray that my faith can one day equal a tenth of this woman’s faith in Christ and that when in doubt, I remember I am the daughter of the Most High.

My turning point!

When I reflect upon it, I realize that becoming a mother helped me understand more about God’s unconditional love towards His children than any other event in my life. Actually, my journey to motherhood is complicated, one of infertility struggles, prayers, tears, and culminating in a miracle: my only son. The concept of unconditional love is difficult to describe if one has not experienced it. Just as describing the different shades of blue to someone born blind. To make that concept even more complicated, we learn of God’s unconditional love towards us against the backdrop of the old testament, and sometimes, it is difficult to reconcile the two.

When I held my son, the concept became easier to understand. As the first foggy days after the delivery melted into weeks and months, as our bond grew stronger, I understood the meaning of conditional love: I required nothing from this tiny baby in order to submerge him in love. His existence was the only prerequisite. I finally understood what it meant to say: I would give my life to preserve his.

This relationship I was developing with him is the same one God longs to have with each one of us.

I have a long way to go, but I am farther along in my relationship with our Lord than I was many years ago. On this journey, the pace is of no importance as long as we keep progressing to our goal!

In Christ,

Mireille

Other articles you might enjoy: Have you forgotten who you are? A Poem for Difficult Days

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