For those who have struggled to understand the mothering aspects of God’s nature, we have only to look to the name El Shaddai to see God’s nurturing heart reflected. Though El Shaddai is often translated as “God Almighty” (which is of course beautiful and true), the one that reflects the Mother’s heart is if the original word is understood as a contraction rather than a single word (the root of the single word being translated as “to overpower” thus “God Almighty”).
If we consider Shaddai as a conjunction of “shad” (“shadaim” means breasts, representative of nourishment and sufficiency) and “dai” (enough – as in the word “dayenu” which is used at Passover meaning “it would have been sufficient” i.e. enough), the resulting meaning is where we derive the name “All Sufficient One” [Hebrew4Christian’s expounds on the name El Shaddai].
The All Sufficient One – El Shaddai – is like a mother nurturing her child. Pouring out love and protection, and even sustaining physical life from their own body. True sacrifial love. Every need met. Sacrificial, unconditional, “chesed” – which we know as lovingkindness. This chesed-love is described for us in Exodus 34:6-7 (VOICE) “…The Eternal God, full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, and abundant in loyal love and truth, who maintains loyal love to thousands of people, who forgives wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin…” We can picture in this a parent, who – despite the naughtiness of the child – never stops loving, never ceases wanting that child to be blessed and taken care of.
So may we each embrace this nurturing and sustaining love. May we remember that we can never walk so far from the heart of God that we cannot return home. May we know the overwhelming and abundant love of our God who cherishes us deeply. And may we allow ourselves to both see ourselves and others in this same way, and to minister from that place of overflow and expectation.
