Johnhwilburn.com

A few weeks ago I discovered a baby doll in front of the church. This seemed strange to me, because most girls here are very protective of dolls, but took it home (to make sure nobody took it) and left a note on a door of the church. It informed anyone who had lost a doll baby to come see me.

Two weeks passed and nobody talked to me about it. So I gave it to two sisters who didn’t have one. The youngest immediately took the doll, and put it over her shoulder like a real baby.

She knew exactly what to do because she’d seen mothers hold their babies that way….

and because God had created her to be a nurturer.

Women are created by God to be nurturers, or carers of others. While men find their identity in work and protecting others, they find identity in taking care of others (especially children). This is a beautiful thing because many young people in this world are starved for this nurturing love.

Within each one of us is a desire to be taken care of in our weakest mom

The strongest, most confident man longs to be nurtured sometimes.

After graduating from College I had to have my wisdom teeth taken out. Because they were impacted into my jaw, the dentist had to cut away part of the jaw bone before removing the tooth. This meant I was put completely under before the operation, and someone had to take care of me.

I’m sure you’ve seen the hilarious videos of children or teens under the influence of this medication. They have no idea what they are saying or doing! Because I still lived at home, my mother took care of me following the operation.

And she loved every minute of it!

My first coherent memory was of her spoon feeding me pudding. For a college graduate this was very embarrassing. But for my mother it was an incredible joy to nurture her grown son.

There is nothing wrong with being strong. In fact, we should be!

But we also need to be nurtured from time to time.

I like to think that little girl the moment I placed that doll baby into her hands remembered being held by her mother, and her father. And instinctively she held the doll close.

It’s my prayer she never forgets how powerful that nurturing love is

And she never stops offering it to others.