The Long Arm of the Mom

Good Morning DearHearts,

I thought right now we could all use a dose of whimsy and perhaps a little learning on the side.  So, here goes.

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We live in an age of super-heroes.  The heroic actions of Spiderman, Iron Man, Superman, and Wonder Woman are witnessed in movies and video games.  However, long before the Marvel™ or DC ™universes existed there was an unsung hero.  This hero always walked amongst us un-noticed.  This hero always appears out of nowhere.

Can you guess who/what I am describing? 

Let me give you a scenario.

There you are riding “shotgun” in the car with a mother, it may not be your mother. The car in front of you stops suddenly and then it happens. Yes, you are wearing a seatbelt, yes, you are an adult but when the car had to stop quickly you instantly became a “Child of God” in need of protection. Enter the super hero long arm of Mom. An arm appears across your body as if by divine presence—to keep you from being hurt or going through the windshield.  It happens every time. Not everything is dependable in this world-but the protective arm of the super hero Mom is.

The protective action becomes unconscious once the badge of “motherhood” is bestowed upon you.  I cannot remember the first time the involuntary arm movement occurred for me.  I am sure it happened sometime after my first born child arrived. 

How long ago was that? Well, the answer may be the reason for the superpower appearing in the first place. 

It was sooooo long ago that children’s car seats were still secured in the front seat. OH NO!!@!!

The seats did face backwards for protection, but back then 6 month old children could still ride “shotgun”.  It was a time of innocence or maybe simple mindedness.  The answer doesn’t really matter the result was – babies rode shotgun.

Eventually car seats moved to the back seat and yet once the super-hero arm was acquired it could not and would not be retired.  Just like the tickle in your nose that causes a sneeze, the involuntary arm would NOT be held back.

The inability to stop this protective action has over the years caused many a chuckle when an in-animate object has been “protected”.  Groceries, purses, packages all have been saved by the long arm of the mom. But perhaps the funniest of “saves” happens when a much larger human is in the passenger seat.  I have many times launched the saving arm to protect a 180 pound man.  Every time I would hear “what are you doing?” and the response is “I can’t help it, it’s involuntary.”   The passenger’s size and weight could have proven injurious to “the arm” but even that would not stop the “save”.

Of course it is possible this “superhero tendency” is found in fathers as well as mothers, it might just be a parental protective device that crosses all parenting.  I have not personally witnessed a father perform this human seatbelt action, but that does not dismiss the possibility.

Parents from all species have the instinct to protect their young.  Once the decision to procreate happens, the maternal and paternal urges take over.  We desire for our “creation” to be safe, happy and to have everything that will help to ensure that outcome.

Our non-human counterparts build nests, dens and burrows to protect their offspring.  They are known to cover the young with their own bodies to ward off an attack from outside threats. With this perspective in mind, the “long arm of the mom” makes perfect sense.

We may think of protection as something only present in the physical world, yet many if not all religions and spiritual texts offer ways we receive ethereal shielding.  The Bible gives us many passages describing the Divine intervention angels offer.  Angels have been protectors, guides and messengers to our biblical counterparts.  They are the representation of selfless love, exactly like the “long arm of the mom”.  Perhaps, the involuntary motion of the mother’s arm is merely an angel watching over a Child of God and guarding against harm.

“Around you angels hover lovingly, to keep away all darkened thoughts of sin, and keep the light where it has entered in” [1]

In Love, Light and Safety

Janet Weissman

©2020 All Rights Reserved

For more information about me check out http://www.JanetWeissman.com

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[1] ACIM Text Chap 26 IX 7:1