When you called, I heard…

Recently, my mother retired after 38 years of teaching, a journey she began at 20 years old. We grew up in a home where both our parents worked. Much of our time was spent at our grandparents’ (mother’s parents) home. Where our unmarried uncles and aunts cared for us, since both our school and my mother’s workplace were nearby. Later, my mother transferred to a school closer to our hometown, and also enrolled us in a school near home. The transition was hard, as now we could only visit our grandparents on weekends. Gradually, we began spending more time in our own joint family home, which had my father’s brothers and their children.

A mother is never far

It was always very hard for me as a child to see my mother go to work or to come home and not find her there. There were many days when I would just miss her deeply. I remember whenever she returned, she would hold us close and ask what we did. I would tell her, “I cried, I missed you… Did you know?” And she would gently reply, “When you cried and called for me, I heard you, and my heart shrank.” Her words always soothed me. For I was comforted by the thought that she missed me too, that she heard me even from afar, and that she felt what I felt.

Despite the busyness, my mother would always cook, clean, and teach Bible stories as we sat on her lap or lay around her. The days she had off felt like Christmas since it meant we could be around her. As I ponder, I understand that God has placed His lovingkindness within the mothers and has blessed them with a beautiful sense of closeness to their children, even from afar.

One verse that has deeply stayed with me and reflects this truth is Isaiah 49:15

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    That she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    Yet I will not forget you.”

It spoke hope to Israel in the face of the coming Babylonian captivity. God used a powerful imagery of a nursing mother to reveal His compassion. A mother who is deeply attached to her baby—she bore in pain and cared for with all her heart—whose needs and presence fill her thoughts, as her heart, mind, and body are bound to her baby. According to God, this is a quality of a good mother, who executes the tender compassion of God for her child. Yet God goes further, saying, even if such a good mother could forget, He will not forget His people. This is the heart of our compassionate and ever-present God!

God is always so near

My mother’s love has been a living reminder of God’s greater presence for me. I, who was sad about not finding my mother at home, have now not seen her for over 4 years in person, and I miss her. But I know now that she surrounds me with her care and prayers, even from afar, and still says, “When you cried and called for me, I heard you and my heart shrank.” Her words echo God’s constant care for me, that if she, as a human mother, could love me this deeply, how much more God loves and surrounds me, who made her and me? How much does He listen to my pain while always being around in Spirit? Here, Isaiah 49:15 ensures me that my God is always near me. Covering me with the comfort of His wing and nourishing me with His sweet love.

I encourage us today that in the times of loneliness, pain, or despair, let us not lose sight of God’s promise and presence. We are never alone. Never unheard because our God never forgets us. If we truly call on Him, He listens and comforts us with His everlasting love. This truth brings hope to all of us that no matter the struggle, God is always holding us, counseling us, and reminding us that we are before Him.