Heavenly Hugs

Motherhood has many joys such as magic moments when you make a warm and meaningful connection with your child, but there is a greater joy attached to this role---the countless times God shares a magic moment with me. These times I fondly call, “heavenly hugs”. It is when out of the blue, the ways and nature of God are magnified by my everyday experience as a mom.

One of the first heavenly hugs I received was when I found out I was pregnant for the first time. Because everything was unfamiliar and I could not see what was happening inside of me, and I was firmly instructed to bed rest then, it was easy to get paranoid and entertain one fear after another. Then I remembered the lyrics of a song, “Even the darkness is light to Him, the night is as bright as the day…” Our Maker is able to handle whatever it is that is going on in the darkness of my womb. Lights are unnecessary in a womb factory, for the All-Seeing God can work wonders even in the dark. What my eyes cannot see, He can. What I cannot control, He can. That truth was a reassuring hug that gave me peace.

When our firstborn arrived, I recall that magic moment when I held her in my arms and felt such an overwhelming love for her. Instantly, I felt like a protective shield around her as I carried her close to me. It was a wave of emotion that subsided but was so quickly replaced and threatened by a tsunami of inadequacy! Can I really mother this child when I still feel like a child? Then a heavenly tug came to my rescue, pulling me out from the rising waters of uncertainty. “Take hold of the love you have for your child and multiply it by infinity. Felichi, I love your daughter more than you ever can.” That must have been one of the first group hugs Our Creator, my child and I shared.

In Tagalog, we call it “nangingilala”. The stage when a baby expresses disapproval when put in the hands of someone unfamiliar. From pleasant smiles to restless whimpers that quickly subside when the baby is returned to family. As I observed my daughters quiet ease in the hands of her dad, it mirrored to me the solution to my own restlessness. Another song goes, “Teach us to trust in You with all of our hearts; to lean not on our own understanding…” Stop taking things into my own hands and instead, choose to entrust them in the hands of Him who made me and knows me so well.

How about the everyday joy of simply watching your growing child eat, eat, eat? Similarly, our Father in heaven is pleased when we feed our spirit with the word of God. Just as we want our children to grow healthy, so does God want our Spirit to strengthen-- not only be willing, but able to overcome. That, for me, was an inspiring hug to pursue what pleases God.

 I am ever grateful to the Lord for all these heavenly hugs—times that have assured me of God’s constant, loving Presence in our journey as moms. Let me end with this poignant memory.

I remember the time my 3 year old son got separated from me in the grocery. Oh, how that boy cried, “MAMA!” As soon as I heard his cry, I knew it was my son. I immediately dropped what I was doing, and hastened to find our lost, distressed boy. I wanted to find him, calm him, and hold him, all at the same time. Soon we were reunited and it was such a big relief to us both. As we shared a comforting hug, the joy was doubled as I pictured our Great Shepherd, in all urgency, seeking and pursuing His lost sheep. He hears their cries. He longs to rescue them and will not stop til He brings them home. “As a mother comforts his child, so will I comfort you,” says the Lord.