how great our Mother's love for us

The best thing about being an English major is having great writers presenting the truths of the Bible in unique and novel ways that resonate even stronger in my heart. Last year, John Donne's poetry--especially his holy sonnets--were just about life-changing for me. This semester, I've just read from Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe--both Christian writers from the Middle Ages.

More amazing than the writing itself is that what I'm reading is EXACTLY what I need to read in the situation that I'm in. It's incredible and confounding and amazing how God meets us where we're at, individually. Mind boggling and beautiful.

Here's a selection from Julian of Norwich:

And in our spiritual bringing to birth he uses more tenderness, without any comparison in protecting us. By so much as our soul is more precious in his sight, he kindles our understanding, he prepares our ways, he eases our conscience, he comforts our soul, he illumines our heart and gives us partial knowledge and love of his blessed divinity, with gracious memory of his sweet humanity and his blessed Passion, with courteous wonder over his great surpassing goodness, and makes us to love everything which he loves for love of him, and to be well satisfied with him and with all his works. And when we fall, quickly he raises us up with his loving embrace and his gracious touch. And when we are strengthened by his sweet working, then we willingly choose him by his grace, that we shall be his servants and his lovers, constantly and forever.

And yet after this he allows some of us to fall more heavily and more grievously than ever we did before, as it seems to us. And then we who are not all wise think that everything which we have undertaken was all nothing. But it is not so, for we need to fall, and we need to see it; for if we did not fall, we should not know how feeble and how wretched we are in ourselves, nor, too, should we know so completely the wonderful love of our Creator.

For we shall truly see in heaven without end that we have sinned grievously in this life; and notwithstanding this, we shall truly see that we were never hurt in his love, nor were we ever of less value in his sight. And by the experience of this falling we shall have a great and marvellous knowledge of love in God without end; for enduring and marvellous is that love which cannot and will not be broken because of offences.

Wow. WOW. From a woman who was born in 1342, that's not half bad. Now, to explain the title of this blog, Julian of Norwich makes comparisons to God as our Mother in order to further explain how He loves us. Her writing has fascinating insights. If you can get ahold of her writing, do so and be blown away. :)