Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 32. I’m Bursting with God-News (a big watery love hold on others)

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Hello human.

Magnificat is the Latin word for “magnify,” and is the first word in the Latin translation of Mary’s Canticle in the Gospel of Luke.

It begins with the words, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum,” which in English is translated as, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”  In other translations it starts as, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”

After Mary received the visit from the angel, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with . When Mary arrived, Elizabeth greeted her:

42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 1: 42 – 55

The Message translation says:

I’m bursting with God-news;

    I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

God took one good look at me, and look what happened—

    I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,

    the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.

Obedience Brings Joy!

Isn’t this the ultimate act of obedience, that Mary rejoices when she learns she will give birth to the Son of God? That in her young life, when she has no experience with being in an intimate relationship, let alone giving birth to a child, she embraced it all.

For me, that is what becoming a mother is.

Acceptance that you are not ready.

That you do not know how to do it.

That you have had no training for it.

Pregnancy takes you through the miracle of formation, that first flutter that you thought was a gas bubble, but as it turns out, is that first baby kick. Fluid, yet strong.

The birthing process is the most intimate connection I have had with God’s power, that I was on His path of creation, with no way but forward. But only through His divine sequence of events. I learned how to yield my nature to His when I became a mother.

And it is in this moment that I have most trusted my Creator.  

It’s not Christmas, so maybe it seems out of season to talk about Mary and the Virgin Birth. But it is inextricably linked to motherhood, and the way God bonds mother and child together during the experience. It’s a spiritual connection.

And this connection came through obedience for Mary. And the same for me.

The Greatest Gift I Give My Children

The greatest gift I can give my children is that my soul magnifies the Lord.

That I call out when I am connected to Him, and how He brings my spiritual nature to life. That I am obedient to how the Son of God is present in my life, how the Holy Spirit guides me.

It should be clear. But for me, motherhood has always felt like walking on the slippery edge of a mountain path. Beautiful view, unstable footing. Like it is impossible to get it right.

But God does that. He gets it right.

The act of being a mother is directly tied to obedience to God, and trusting that He will deliver your child through any circumstance. First, that he or she arrives healthy, that you hear the cry of life. Then, through every stage of development, that God will deliver.

What I have learned from motherhood is an integral part of my witness, and available to anyone who crosses paths with someone who needs to be delivered. God gives us opportunities to deliver others to Him.

While Mother’s Day prompts us to pause, appreciate, affirm our love… it is an earthly tradition. It is a created moment to do so. My mothers, grandmothers are, being a mother is so much more than that. God’s timing needs no group prompting. No nationally-recognized day. God works one-on-one.

The greater meaning comes from the miracle of having a Creator who masterminded creating a human, a human with a soul. A soul that magnifies the Lord.

We lived in California for five years. When we first relocated we lived in an apartment complex with several swimming pools. A good thing in a climate that was 72 and sunny every day. My granddaughter, who was about five at the time, loved coming over to swim. One day we were teaching her to jump in the pool in the middle. I was standing out in the water, a little more than waist deep. Her mother was standing over to the side. I told her I would count to three and then she should jump. I turned to acknowledge her mother’s go-ahead as I got ready to count. At that moment, I felt a mass of arms and legs crashing in on me. She had jumped. No numbers, no waiting. She took the moment she had the courage to do it.

She took us both under and down. Our butts hit the bottom in a flurry of bubbles. All I could think was “hang on tight to her.” I thought she would come out of the water scolding me. And crying. But when we emerged, she was just holding on very tight. With a little smile, as if to say “Thank you for not letting go. I did it, Grandma.”

The Power of Not Letting Go

That’s one thing a mother does, a grandmother does:  not let go. We may think what happens to our children, even something we have done, or failed to do, may sink them, but it is God’s Will, God’s way to help us “not let go” of the unconditional love we have between us.

This love is not exclusive to mothers, this big, watery love hold on others, happens to all of us… but how we do it comes in so many God-ways. Big God-ways. It takes all the mothers in the world—past, present, future—to create an eternal mosaic of God’s commitment to “never let go of us.” That God gives us people in our lives who take on that pool stance with outstretched arms to be there when we jump unannounced. People who do not let go. Unconditional love.

A year ago, about 9 years after the swimming pool memory I asked my granddaughter if she remembered the first time she jumped into water over her head, and took us both down. She said, “I remember, I will always remember.”

I said, “Please don’t ever forget.”

And my soul proclaimed the greatness of the Lord.

My spirit rejoiced in my God, my Savior.