Like our poet-prophetess of old, I too seek the “mutual approbation” that comes from our Heavenly Parents to let me know that I’m not alone or without their guiding influence, love, and care.

I have felt the love of God in very strong ways throughout my life, but not always on a regular basis.  I look and pray for the chance to feel God’s love every day by trying to put myself in situations where I believe they can reach me. There are many instances of their mercy and kindness scattered throughout every day life which I do not always recognize, but I wish the moments of witness came with more power and more often.

The desire to feel a more fervent love from God occupied my mind one evening on the way to weekly yoga practice.  The instructor focused the class on setting an intention and  visualizing that intention coming to fruition. Throughout the class, her narrative included letting worrisome thoughts leave, focusing inward, and imagining our blessings flowing unrestrained into our lives.

After 90 minutes of vigorous yoga, chanting, and guided visualization, my mind was sufficiently free from distracting thoughts of daily life.  As I sat in the meditative pose, I decided rather than waiting for God’s love to strike me unsolicited, I would visualize them telling me the words I desperately wanted to hear. I started by telling myself (in God’s voice), “You are our blessed daughter.” No sooner did I think it than an affirmation of its truthfulness washed over me. I continued, “We are mindful of your struggles and heartaches” – but now it was confusing – was I the one originating the idea and they confirming it, or the other way around? It went on, “We know the goodness of your heart. We love you.” I felt the welcome release of tears down my cheeks.

With eyes closed and body calm, a vision of my Mother and Father God opened to my mind. They were dressed in flowing white clothing, and to my surprise – they appeared young! Youthful! No wrinkles, no hunched spine, no grey hair! At this point, I realized I wasn’t making it up anymore. I never would have imagined my Heavenly Parents as young, particularly when my some of favorite artwork depicts them as much older. That I was surprised by their youthfulness confirms to me that the vision was not just a figment of my imagination.

The next moment, I faced my Mother God and noticed her smooth, wrinkle-free skin and long, golden hair. I thought, “She looks just like me!”  (I don’t presume Heavenly Mother is a blonde, but because I have blonde hair, seeing myself in her image made her instantly relatable.) Awestruck by the idea that we looked alike, my next thought flooded in: “If I look like her, that means I can BE like her.”  Her aura was warm and loving. I knew she related to me and understood my fears, worries, and heartaches as well as my joys and triumphs.

Mother and Father God stood side-by-side, remarkably similar in stature, with shoulders touching and arms wrapped behind the other’s back, their free hands placed on top of my head as they continued their blessings on me. “You are our blessed daughter. We know you. We watch you. We are mindful of your pain and struggles. We know you are trying your best. We know the goodness of your heart. We love you.”

As the vision closed, my heart glowed with gratitude and I felt with penetrating fervor the words of this scripture: “Or what parent is there of you, who, if their daughter ask bread, will give her a stone? Or if she ask fish, will they give her a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Mother and Father who are in heaven give good things to her that asks them?”

A few more tears dripped down my face as I realized I had been going about it all wrong. I had been waiting for the love and approval of God to strike me spontaneously as it had in memorable moments of the past.  I clung fervently to the memories of that love, but worried that by going long stretches between such witnesses meant  I was forgotten or unimportant.  Never before had I considered I could call down the blessings from Heaven I sought, speak truths to myself and have them instantly validated by my higher powers.

The new truths revealed to me this evening about my Mother Goddess are precious and memorable: that I am created in her likeness, that I have potential to be like her, that she stands ready to bless me, and that she is more present than I ever knew.