Turm Der Mutter which means Tower of Mothers, is a bronze sculpture made by the German artist, Käthe Kollwitz. It represents mothers defending their children. As I looked at these women, huddled together in a circle, their bodies linked together for a common cause, I thought about how each mother is a part of a tower of mothers within our community. This is not to say that we don’t need fathers, we do, they are invaluable. And I’m not saying that I agree totally with the feminist movement either. However, there is something about a woman’s soul that nurtures, protects and fights for what’s right. A tower that is needed to be seen as a strong pillar for the next generation.
The Bible uses poetry and parallelism to show the mothering side of God. The word pictures in the book of Isaiah reveal how God shapes and nurtures Israel. This imagery helps us to see the kind of love God has for His people. ‘Because the One who loves them – as a mother loves her child – will be their guide. God will lead them to restful places, rejuvenating springs of water.’ (Isaiah 49:10) Instead of a God of fire and brimstone we hear preached on street corners, here we discover a God who fights and protects for His children. A love and tenderness that is a strong bond between child and mother.
I find it sad when I see women whispering behind their hands, judging others. Their actions dividing instead of joining together, tearing down instead of building up. We are the victors not the victims, the protectors not the protesters, the ones who need to teach the next generation their identity and how to walk upright in the inheritance Jesus died for. We cannot do this, as believing women, if we don’t huddle and stand together for a common cause.
Tearing something down is a lot easier than rolling up our sleeves and rebuilding it. Defending and backing something is harder than just letting the enemy destroy it. In the church I attend, I oversee a group of women who choose to join their wisdom, faith and courage together to become a strong tower for our community. These faith-filled women stand up for justice and truth and don’t hide behind their Christian veneer, pretending everything is fine. They are a tower of mothers, protecting their surroundings. Observing and watching the horizon for any trouble. These brave souls go around ‘God’s house’ turning lights on, dispelling the unwelcome shadows that have crept in under the cover of darkness. They make sure the wicks are trimmed, ready for the bridegroom’s return, and hold high their oil lamps so everyone sees the light that they carry.
A tower of mothers is able to reach out and reach through the darkness of this broken world, shining God’s light to find the one who is battle worn and needs to come home. They can respond in ways that only a mother’s heart can. However, we need to be vigilant if we are to live the full life God intended us to live. We need to watch ourselves in the process of fighting for a cause and not turn on each other. Isaiah 58 promises that we could live a full life even in the emptiest of places if we quit blaming, gossiping and start giving of ourselves, we can use the old rubble from our past and build something new.
‘If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places – firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community liveable again’ (Isaiah 58:9-12)
I don’t know about you, but I want to see old ruins restored. I want to be led by God to restful places, and rejuvenating springs of water. I want to join the many other church mothers whose faith rings through the corridors of time, echoing what God placed upon their hearts. Spiritual mothers like, Catherine of Siena and Thérèse of Liseaux, choosing to live selfless lives serving others. A tower of mothers who experienced pain and tough seasons but chose to rebuild and renovate for the next generation regardless of personal cost.
Let us as women, become a tower of power and commit ourselves to a cause worth fighting for. Women together, joining hands. The younger ones and the more mature ones, each huddled together in a circle, our bodies, minds and spirit’s linked together for a common cause. To protect, to nurture and to love the next generation, just like Christ.
Wendy xo
Have you experienced a tower of mothers in your local church?
Did they built up and restore or tear down things to rubble?
