Hosea 13:8 – I will encounter them like a mother bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage and there I will also devour them like a lioness. As a wild beast will tear them.

This is so descriptive of the feeling inside of me.
A mother’s heart.
It is God given.
It is in us mothers!! God gave it to us and to the animal world too. I felt it the moment my son was born. It is a crazy protective love. Relentless, sleepless, selfless. Makes us the most vulnerable in life, because it is true love.
This fiery, unabashed, mother love, is still me, as Nate’s mom.
The instinct, the fire, the passion, the thoughtlessness of attacking anything that would threaten or steal one of my babies is alive in me, even though he is gone.
In Hosea, God compares His love for His children, with a mother bear who was threatened with being deprived of her cubs. We see in Hosea, what she would do. The word deprived means: to remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of ( a person or persons).

The scripture shows that, it was the mother who would be deprived of her cub, therefore, she would attack!!!! It was not just her instinct to protect her cub, but to protect her own heart, her own family, her whole pack. HER!! It would take extreme measures to do whatever it would take, to protect and secure her cubs, without a thought, or a second of hesitation.
This is the natural way. The unnatural way, would be to not fight, to give up, to sit back, to accept. To say, “It’s best, it’s ok. My cub is in a better place” and lay down again. That goes against the very nature of God, and the mother love He gave to all of us mothers.
For me to have to accept his death, and pull back, still being the same mother I have always been… It’s not natural. Not only that, but feels like my enemy.

With this understanding, comes the knowledge, that this love for my son, comes from the very heart of God, where love begins.
This love is OUR God. This fierce mother bear love, is how He loves all of us.

I need to know this love for me right now more than ever;

He goes after me. He fights for me. He is relentless in His love. He pursues me, to bring me close and keep me safe. He doesn’t sleep or become weary. He knows me and loves all of me.  He watches out for me and is passionate to take care of whatever threatens me. He defends me. He hides me and protects me.  He has compassion on me. He holds my pain.

He is my mother bear.