Our First Experience of Love
“It is striking that so much of our imagery regarding religious experience is couched in terms of the family: God, loving and forgiving Mother and Father of us all; Jesus, our Teacher and Elder Brother; we, the wayward children united through God in the sisterhood of humankind.
That we first experience the love of God through the love of our parents and that we are able to love God and one another because we have learned to love father and mother and brother and sister is something we tend to ignore… Unless we learn at home how to handle hate, anger, and fear so that it does not destroy ourselves or others, and unless we experience the full depth of forgiveness in the give and take of family life, we are not going to be able to go into the world and help drain off hatreds there.“
— Elise Boulding, 1953 (source)
Quaker sociologist and writer
Today’s Invitation
Consider how love for and from your family has shaped your spirituality. Write a few sentences about how love felt to you as a child.
This Week’s Query
How do you move through conflict in your close relationships?
Have you ever experienced difficulty in your relationship with Spirit? What did you do?
Banner image: Joey Hartmann-Dow
