Rev Helen’s blog – Lent 2021

So we reflect on mothering Sunday without the usual events …..

This year many are recognising loss and separation ,grief and sorrow but maybe for many this is the  time to return to God and be thankful for what we have or have had. for new birth and regeneration. This year the whole concept of mothering Sunday and Mother’s day as it has become we recognise is challenging.

For a few moments I hve been reflecting on what the love of a mother means now in the reality we are living in and for for what it means to be mother church also in this reality.

What is this love like when mums are not around either temporarily or permanently when we can’t see or touch or physically hear ?  I found the perfect story !

It is  called the Invisible string and this is forming my basis for this blog The invisible string between God and us ,Jesus and me , me and motherhood as a mum and a child. There is something of mother love or should be  in all my relationships that have meant or mean something or even the loss of  connectedness that we have in all our relationships. The story reminds us of a string that is never broke though sometimes gets a bit tangled  !

The story begins with two frightened children in the middle of a storm who want their mum. She comes to them and tells them of a story passed on to her about an invisible string.

A string made of love. One child says but I can’t see it !

The children are then reassured that they are connected to those who they love and those who love them wherever they are and all they need to do is pull on that invisible string that they will feel in their hearts.They ask how far can the string reach ?  “Anywhere and everywhere”thier mum said.

It reminded me that God  tells us this too we are connected everywhere and anywhere You know some of the rest….

Even in the darkest places ..

At the bottom of the ocean…

Up a mountain..

In the jungle…

In outerspace..

And Heaven..

All of these can be metaphors for how we feel/

“Yes even there” said their mum.

They ask “does the string go away when you are mad at us?”

“No” said mum  “love is stronger than anger “

It is there even when you grow up? Questions that we all ask.

This is made so real  isn’t it when we reflect on Mother’s day  re those connections with mums. Some are are not with us any more ,some mums have lost their children even before they knew them and we need to recognise and celebrate that even if we can’t give gifts or cards or presents or flowers we need to remember to find healing and peace and joy. The story encourages the reader to reflect on all the invisible strings they have and realise their interconnectedness The story it not simply about one string it is actually about a vision or a dream that God has for the world one where all the world is  connected by invisible strings or the need for us all to be connected to each other  and the need for this never ending unconditional love to be part of a whole. The whole world in fact! The book ends with pictures of people across the whole world joining hands. So simple yet profound

So Mother’s day or Mothering Sunday is about all of these things bringing people back to a unity joined with the invisible string of love that is unbreakable and profound. Do you need to pull or tug on the strings ?

We might think about our own lives – our experiences of mothering or of being mothered; remembering with thanksgiving the people who have done those things for us.  And perhaps we might also think of times when we have been failed by those who were supposed to care for us, or those times when we ourselves have failed.

Always remember the string that holds it all together and that we can always tug on God’s strings when we need to feel him in our hearts .

Every Blessing Helen