I recently fell in love with a painting and we (the painting and I) had a long conversation. It is titled "She Had Compassion." by Elspeth Young.
https://www.alyoung.com/art/work-daughter_of_pharaoh.html
The painting was of Pharaoh's daughter pulling Moses out of the river. One could observe the tender hands and loving desire to save this baby from the death decree of a fearful Pharaoh that male babies must be thrown in the river. The record states the princess saves the infant and later raises him in the Egyptian palace. She could not have known that day the life she saved would one day lead his people out of Egyptian bondage, save the entire Israelite nation, and be revered as a prophet for four thousand years.
As I pondered the sequence of events that led to lifting this baby out of the river of death, I find four very different women who were key players in saving the Moses that saved a nation.
The first in this quartet is Shiprah. I deeply admire that she defied the destructive instructions from Pharaoh to kill the Hebrew male babies born while serving as midwife. The record states that the Lord dealt well with her and Puah who likewise refused to kill the male babies.
The second is Jochabed, the mother of Moses who carefully hid the infant and then set him out in the ark basket that without intervention would have become his casket. She protected that life, most likely at risk of her own life, with faith in God.
Miriam, sister to Moses, is the third in this narrative, who watches and protects the basket as it comes to the fourth woman in this life giving, life protecting quartet, Pharaoh's daughter. The record states, "she had compassion" and lifted him from the river.
I identify with these four women. I love that each are so different, yet acted on the deepest feelings and gifts within to give and protect life. The choice of motherhood presented to Pharaoh's daughter resonates deeply with me. My family is my choice. It has not failed me in any way to bring continual joy, personal growth and increased capacity in a difficult and profoundly rewarding path. Motherhood gives me the gifts of deep meaning and satisfaction. Nurturing life has been brought education and knowledge about divine and earthly priorities. Both the slave and the princess chose the gifts of female biology and divine nature. There are Shiprahs and Miriams today as well, women who give strength and support to each other in the most influential calling and career.
The image of lifting from the river has repeatedly been impressed on my mind for days. From a murky, treacherous river of lies, doubt and destruction mothers today courageously, and fearlessly live, defend and testify of the truth that mothers are the stabilizing force of society and change lives every day. I applaud mothers who act on the understanding that babies are the greatest force for good in the world. I cheer mothers who seek to nurture their children to achieve their highest potential. I revere mothers who defy the current culture of self-serving lies that demean motherhood and choose to act on the deepest feelings of their soul to give and protect life. While these four women may not have exactly known the identity of this baby, they each acted on their understanding of their divine identity. The painting "She Had Compassion" continues to teach me of eternal identity, the gift of compassion, and inspires me to lift from the river again and again and again.
