Being a Stepmother

Frans Schwartz, The Agony in the Garden

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to view the Sacred Gifts exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art.  The centerpiece of the exhibit, in my opinion, is this beautiful painting.  It is so tender to see the angel supporting The Savior through the pain and darkness of the Atonement.

I started to wonder about the angel.  Who would be given the role of comforter for Jesus?  This is absolutely NOT doctrine in any way, but what if that was the privilege of Heavenly Mother?  She is the mother of Christ's spirit, but when you think about it, she's the stepmother of his earthly being.  Mary had the job of bearing the Christ, raising him, comforting his earthly hurts and calming his fears.  But in this moment when he also needed that mothering, she obviously wasn't there, or we would have heard about it.  I'm sure that she just couldn't have been there.

Stepmothers get a bad rap sometimes (wicked stepmother, anyone?), but it has been a sacred gift in my life to be a stepmom to my husband's children.