If you are anywhere near my age (1976 high school graduation) and are a female, you may now be at a point where the aftertaste of radical feminism has started to disappear. You’ve also successfully waded through a culture that embraced new-age thinking and have now arrived at real truths.
Unfortunately, the result of the particular journey that many of us have been on is that we, in direct opposition to the false messages of radical feminism and the new age movement have really lost out on something that I have only recently discovered: God as Mother.
Sophia.
Years ago I wrote my first fiction book titled Elizabeth:A Holy Land Pilgrimage. In the book, Elizabeth’s daughter is named Sophia. At the time I knew no one with that name and it had no special meaning to me. I just knew that Sophia was supposed to be the name of the daughter in the book. The second fiction book I wrote is titled Miriam:Repentance and Redemption in Rome. Sophia, as Elizabeth’s daughter, is also part of the Miriam book. Again, clueless about the import of Sophia.
After I finished Miriam, I knew—instinctively—that the third and final book was going to be Sophia. Plain and simple. In fact, the story of Sophia has already made itself known to me. From beginning to end it has already taken place in my heart and in my head. Yet at that point the significance of Sophia was still unknown to me.
All that has since changed.
Sophia has now brought me front and center to the concept of Sophia as Wisdom. Sophia as a Mother, a Spirit, a Companion. A door opened, a word was spoken, and in an instant Sophia was revealed to me. A curtain was pulled back and I was invited to step inside.
Since that moment, I’ve discovered much about Sophia and Her works with God; Her desires to be found, to be welcomed. The more I learn about Sophia and welcome Her into my heart and into the book that is Hers, the more I see that the damages of radical feminism have made us push Her away lest we think we are entering some radical feminist frame of reference for God. Indeed, seeing Her in all Her glory may even feel a bit new-agey to us, so we’ve walked away. Using words such as “Goddess” makes us run; but Sophia isn’t “Goddess” as we would imagine some dark magic use of the word. Nor does Sophia invite us to an alternate spiritual world of new-age.
No, Sophia has been there all along in right relationship with the Father. Solomon sought Her and was handsomely rewarded for doing so; Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen sang Her praises.
Unfortunately, it seems that in our day and age we no longer have the language with which to describe Her; thus we don’t seek Her or know Her. But there She is, throughout Scripture (Wisdom, Proverbs, Exodus, Corinthians, Romans). She seems to have been well-hidden and then further buried as a result of the fears we have to keep all things bad and “feminist” or “new age” at arm’s length.
And yet She is within each of us; She willingly accompanies us on our journeys.
Sophia is the wisdom of motherhood and sisterhood and womanhood; and while She may seem elusive—She is patiently waiting to be found.
She is the treasure for our age. A safe-haven for those who call out to Her and seek Her guidance. She is the Holy Wisdom that reveals to us the connections between Heaven and Earth; She is order in a chaotic world and light in darkness.
I am excited to write about Her; honored that She beckoned to me.
I invite you to know Her as well; accept the gifts of Holy Wisdom, of Sophia.
(picture copyright Paul-andré Belle-isle Dreamstime.com)
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