God’s not forgetting

So, when parents not only fail to love but wound us deeply, God steps in?

Isaiah 49:17 tells us so: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

What does God not forgetting us consist of? I imagine — and I have experienced — God’s care includes all we need. Richard Rohr has said, “God is always enough.” But there are obstacles to our realizing this “enough.” The first is within us. Neglect, abuse leaves us with faulty perceptions. The second is in our world: picking up on God isn’t easy. Let’s address both obstacles briefly.

Abuse hands us a default way of perceiving the world, and it’s not nice. We see rejection, betrayal quite easily, even when it’s not present. We don’t think much of ourselves. These and other toxic thoughts paint our worlds gray. We’ve work to do to peel off the negative and replace it with a hope-filled realism. God will help us to do this. (And we will benefit from professional help in this regard, too!)

I think seeing God used to be easier. God was a part of all things. It was as if God walked beside us. We would do well to return to such a framework. God’s not forgetting us will be seen in both indirect and direct ways: the people who saw us, affirmed us; the books or songs or poems or sayings that uplifted us; the knowledge that told us over and over how we were being treated was wrong. We can look back and see God’s hand in all of these. We can look at our present moments and find these instances, too.

Reflection

How did God “not forget” you? How is God not forgetting you now?

Prayer

Help me, Lord, to see your hand in my life. We are mistaken if we look for you only in the removal of suffering. You are there, here, in the midst of it! You are with us, with me. And that being with is a powerful, comforting, informing, and wonderful thing! Help me to see, Lord. Amen.