God a perfect model of excellence for all mothers.

Byline: FROM HEART TO HEART By Nancy Atkins For The Register-Guard

I am an adoptive mother and a foster mother simultaneously. How often have I had people come up to me and my children to ask me something like, `Who is their real mother?"

It can be a painful question or, at the very least, a thought-provoking one. After all, my adopted son came to me when he was a mere 6 days old and, other than the occasional sleepover or campout, he has been in my care every day of his life. Doesn't that constitute being his real mother?

Then again, he does have a birth mom who loved him enough to let him go, in light of her personal challenges.

The foster babies I have cared for over the years have had three mothers: their birth mom, me as their foster mom (sometimes for as long as their whole first year of life) and then their adoptive mom.

They have been rich with mother love. But who is their real mother?

The answer I've found to that question is what gives me the courage and stamina to continue with the role of foster mom, and as an adoptive mom for that matter.

God is the real Mother. In fact, I believe that there is only one true or real Parent and that one is spiritual, the divine Father-Mother of us all.

For years I have studied the writings of Mary Baker Eddy in conjunction with the Bible. Studying her writings has inspired me each step of the way in these mothering endeavors. The following quote from a collection of her prose works says it better than I could:

"God being infinite mind, he is the all-wise, all-knowing, all-loving Father-Mother, for God made man in his own image and likeness, and made them male and female as the Scriptures declare; then does not our heavenly Parent `divine mind' include within this mind the thoughts that express the different mentalities of man and woman, whereby we may consistently say `Our Father-Mother God'?'

For me, the above quote opens up this thought from Jesus, `Call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father which is in heaven.'

It doesn't negate my personal mothering to acknowledge God as the true Mother, but instead it is my constant source of comfort and freedom. The beauty of acknowledging the one divine Parent is the freedom it gives me to seek a perfect model of excellence, not limited by my own experience.

Mother's Day is a celebration of love. It is a day when our husbands and children say `thank you' for the glimmer of the divine Parent that they have seen reflected in our actions and words. It is a day when we mothers lift up our eyes and say, `Thank you, God' for the opportunity to pattern our motherly lives after the immortal maternal qualities of our Father-Mother God.

Nancy Atkins is a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist who loves living in Eugene and thinks it is the best place imaginable to bring up children. This column is coordinated by Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries, a network of faith communities in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693.