Never Never Again

A parent was heard to say, “as soon as I say, my child would never, there, he comes… nevering like he never nevered before.”

The Bible and other spiritual texts, refer to God as a father, a powerful metaphor.

Fatherhood and parenthood symbolize our divine nature and are a potent reminder of our relationship to our creator. It represents our human potential and reminds us of the great love our Father in Heaven has for us.

But the parental metaphor has another aspect.

As parents, we stand in amazement at the decisions our children make. We think to ourselves, “He would never do something like that,” and then there he goes … nevering like he never nevered before. As a parent, I slap my forehead in desperation, muttering, “Oh, my God.”

I can see God looking down on me and saying, “He would never do something like that,” and then there I go… nevering like I never nevered before. Leaving God to slap his forehead in desperation, uttering, “Oh, my Me.”

I can recall, with some shame, for I was not yet a parent, observing a parent dealing with a difficult child and thinking, “A child of mine would never do something like that.” Sure enough, my children came… nevering like they never nevered before.

I can see God before He created the earth, watching the other Gods and their worlds, saying to Himself, my children will never do anything like that. And then we came… nevering like we never nevered before. Leaving God with a deeper sense of compassion for the other Gods.

The fatherhood metaphor is powerful, but I know there are times that I am sure God in Heaven is shaking His head, saying, “Oh, my Me, there he goes again. You’d think he would have learned by now.”