God is a Mother

All week we’ve reflected on the insights of those who have been pushed aside by the power structures in our world. Reflecting on the role of the strong women in Exodus 1, we’re inspired to think a little differently about God as well. What stands out to you from this poem? What shocks you? Entertains you? Comforts you? Challenges you?

god is a mother
and with that
sentence
the world stops

the world always stops
when woman and
divine
commingle

as if the
feminine
dilutes the
miraculous
when in reality
it embodies it

when jesus turns water
to wine
they clap
but when women turn breasts
to milk
they cringe

a broken man’s body
is celebrated each sunday
while a broken woman’s body
is just hidden away

and it’s no wonder
that mother is a word
used by men
to demonize those
who don’t claim the name
and weaponized to shame
those who step out of line
because
their ideal
woman
plays the role of nurturer
and silencer
in pews
built and led by them

but
when god
becomes mother
she is neither quiet
or compliant
she leads confidently
she questions authority
she commands respect
which might be the problem
for mother god
did not gather us up
carelessly
but took her time with it

she fed us milk
birthed our souls
and broke her body
and the permanence
can be uncomfortable
and to disentangle god
from motherhood
is impossible
but
to disentangle god
from womanhood
is sinful

because seeing god as mother
is one step closer
to seeing god in me
and it’s in that
i am truly
born again

~ Kaitlin Hardy Shetler

www.skeptileptic.blogspot.com/p/poems-for-resistance.html