A testimony of the unfolding of my relationship with God, our Heavenly Parent.
Being raised a Catholic in a family of three girls, I had my issues in relating to God. There was a point in my mid-teens when I decided I was finished with all the religious dogma I had toyed with. I knew it was easy to say you believed in something but just as easy to live your life as if your belief was not true or vital to all decisions made on a daily basis.
I just wanted to connect with God. Those days of my youthful quest led me to the “peace movement” of no war, flower children and back to nature. I moved into an adobe house with no running water in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
In my quest to “see God’s face,” I fasted for 40 days on water. I saw lots of colors and entities, but no God. A few weeks later, I did another 40 day water fast, figuring I’d get it right this time. It ended with a horrid experience in which the devil peeked out from behind the mountain and laughed until the whole world vibrated. With that, I headed off to really find God. I did not want any part of living in Satan’s land.
I landed at the Denver bus station and sat on the floor. It was 2 a.m. and I was faced with the night life of downtown Denver after living in a simple, safe cocoon for two years in my adobe house. I was then approached by an understanding fellow who offered me a place to stay until morning. How nice, he was going to take care of me.
But he brought me to a basement apartment in an urban neighborhood. Inside there were more men. Apparently I was to be the life of the party. After being assured that the gun was loaded with one bullet and the trigger pulled once to prove they were serious, I was raped by several of these men. As they proceeded, I called out to God. I said these guys should kill me since I had pretty much screwed up my life until that point. But I added, “If you can be in charge of my life absolutely, then let me live.”
After a few hours, I found myself back at the bus station in the café. Suddenly, a guy came and sat next to me, looked right into my eyes and asked if I believed in world peace. What? Who is this guy? I looked questioningly at him and immediately knew I was kept alive to meet him. He introduced me to the teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Divine Principle. The teachings answered all the musings I had about religion and introduced me to the nature and heart of God.
From then on, I found myself fully invested in the activities of the Unification Movement. I prayed, studied, cooked, fundraised, cleaned, listened, served, traveled, and grew in my relationship with God. Over the years I was matched and married to my husband, raised three children, visited and lived in various countries and states. My faith in God was always the center of my strength and life. As anyone knows, life throws all kinds of hooks and sinkers at us. I was not immune to suffering, struggles, stress, or depression.
Philosophical angst regarding my faith is probably one of the most difficult crosses. When I finally wanted to clear out that angst, I was confronted with a powerful realization: God understands me. This may not sound earth shattering but I am a woman. I was raised with sisters by a strong mother who comes from a long line of strong women. I was looking for comfort from God the Father and was embraced by the love of God the Mother. It is a real, tangible love that completely took me by surprise and immediately changed my vantage point.
It never occurred to me that I was missing a vital component in my relationship with God. My prayers, for the most part, are a running conversation in my head, just about 24/7. For most of my life, I really considered God my best friend. I would discuss relationships, the future, needs and wants, dreams and regrets. I always felt there was a watchful eye protecting me and willing ears to listen, and as I got older, I realized I had to make time to hear God’s guidance, so I did.
When an ontology conference at Messina House in Barrytown was announced in 2013, I was drawn to attend; after all, God is my favorite topic of conversation. Ontology, the study of the origin of being, would bring me to a deeper knowledge of God. When the notion of Mother God was addressed, I was interested, but not particularly convinced. Yet somehow, in the course of discussion, a fire ignited deep inside of me.
I could not deny that up until that point my relationship with God was as a Father. I make no apology. In the early 80’s feminist theologians wrote about the female God. In those days, I felt much of their writing was anti-male and a bit militant so it did not resonate with me. Therefore, I was already jaded regarding the thought of God being or having feminine aspects.
Of course, in the Principle of Creation, the Divine Principle teaches that God has dual characteristics, male and female. But the reality of that concept was not consistent throughout the teaching. The remainder of the “black book” is almost exclusively male-dominated. When God’s heart is addressed, it is primarily a male heart. The father/son relationship is given incredible value, but I was neither a father nor a son.
Then the floodgates opened. Do you mean the feminine aspect of God is real? There is a silenced woman within my understanding of God? There was the possibility of Eve to discuss her problems with a mother? Suddenly not only was a light turned on but an immense paradigm shift took place at the very core of my being. No! How could it be?
I tried to understand that I had lived my life looking at God’s female manifestations all around me and still did not fathom how I solely related to God as Father. Pitifully and surgically I went through my connection with God, and at each juncture I questioned, “Is this Heavenly Mother or God the Father?” As much as it was liberating, it was angst-ridden. I could not keep this information to myself. Half the people on the planet are female and deserve to know in a very real and positive way that they are reflections of their Heavenly Mother.
A video of Jeanne Carroll’s testimony on “Gender Balance & Divine Principle” at the UTS Alumni Conference, May 24, 2015.
The essence of how women do things, how we create, convince, incorporate, nurture, teach, network, dream, and hope is uniquely feminine. Since we are the reflection of the Creator, it stands to reason that those qualities of the Creator — Mother God, Heavenly Mother, Queen of Heaven, the Goddess — are terms we may be familiar with, but are we serious about establishing a real and dynamic relationship with Her? Why should we feel uncomfortable beginning a public prayer with “Dear Heavenly Mother”? How is it that we sheepishly, under our breath, say, “Mother” as we pray?
The only solution is to “Just do it!” Just try, pray strictly to Heavenly Mother. Ask for understanding, connection, or (my favorite), a sign. If there is a Divine Mother hoping to make Herself known, she will surely take that opportunity to dance into your life. This relationship in no way diminishes our relationship with Father God, but it enhances it. Our “God” just more than doubled in size.
Mother God knows the dread a woman feels when she has to walk past those guys and hear vulgar comments about her body; the ecstasy of holding a tiny, damp, warm bundle to your breast just after it exited your own body; and, the tragedy of seeing your precious child suffer with addiction, mental illness or physical ailments. All this can be shared at such a profound level with your Heavenly Mother. She is your Mother, she knows.
Looking at history, the sorrows of God are also magnified in viewing them from the vantage point of a Mother. Why didn’t Eve talk to her Mother God? How painful it was to see the suffering of the innocents? Women and children have borne the painful results of war, disease and famine more than men. Even today we see that those most adversely affected by social upheaval, economic strife and the spoils of war are women and children. Rape has become a weapon of war; girls are the prizes of the greedy and lustful to be bought and sold over and over until their beauty or health fades and they are thrown away, or worse, killed.
It is high time we greet our Mother in Heaven with hearts of fullness, understanding and love. Let’s greet an entirely new way of relating to the omniscient and omnipresent God. Foundation Day brought the historical equilibrium back to the pre-fall standard. Such a balanced and pre-fall understanding of the True God is needed.
We cannot leave the dual characteristics of God on the first pages of the Principle of Creation. The entire reality of God’s nature must be honored in its complex and gender-inclusive glory. There is no mistake that women around the world have been heeding the call of Heaven. They are speaking up, setting examples, winning elections, and making the world fully aware of the historical animosity toward women for being descendants of Eve.
Everyone came from their mother’s womb. For our sisters and ourselves, let’s rush toward the open arms of our Mother in Heaven. Listen to Her whisper in the breeze, feel Her excitement in the caress of your lover, allow her to assure you of your value in the reflection of your face. If not today, when will we begin to have a truly broad and embracing relationship with Heaven?♦
Jeanne Carroll (UTS Class of 1987) lives with her husband, Jerome, in Dover, NJ. She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education, and served as a missionary in Ukraine. She founded the New Hope School in Clifton, NJ, and currently serves as the Commission for the Status of Women (NGO-CSW) representative for WFWP International at the United Nations. This article was adapted from her presentation at the session on “Gender Balance and Divine Principle” at this year’s UTS Alumni Conference.
Artwork at top by Evelynne M. Hatchard, from illustrations in her new ebook, Heavenly Mother’s Day: Are You My Mother?
Applied Unificationism 
Yes, Yes! And, of course, of course! Good for you, Jeanne.
John, I thank you and I believe there are many members that have been feeling more and more the stirrings of Heavenly Mother in their lives. Just saying….Nice of you to comment!
Your journey blew me away, Jeanne. I am amazed you survived your initial ordeal and suddenly was found by a member. I’m very sorry that this member didn’t find you first. At any rate, you have raised an awareness again in my mind and heart about the Heavenly Mother. Of course the Bible and DP are silent about the reality of the Heavenly Mother’s presence through all the ordeals of history. If it is possible, if there is anything left of the original manuscript that True Father created in the late 40’s or early 50’s, I believe it would be the most priceless original explanation of the Heavenly Parent that has ever existed. If UTS could publish even bits and pieces of anything of this nature, it would benefit our movement tremendously and could even contribute to ending the ongoing debate about who God is and who True Mother is that exists among the factions within our movement. May Heaven bless your family, life and work, Jeanne.
Hi, Randall, and thanks. I know the Principle of Creation is the place where the dual natures of God are presented. I think that if this concept was elaborated on in great depth throughout our church experience we would not be suffering as we are now. It is therefore important to ponder what God the Father and Heavenly Mother intended the relationship between Heaven and Creation to be before the fall, because that is what we should be building.
Randall, I have been studying the original manuscript of the Principle, handwritten by Father in 1951 in Busan, and believe it or not, it does speak about Heavenly Mother. Father had this idea from the very beginning of his ministry. But the moment of Heavenly Mother’s emergence in human consciousness is tied to the emergence of True Mother.
Andrew, I agree 100%. There is no precedent for a woman central figure to be accepted as God’s direct representative. Of course, it will be difficult, I venture to say, possibly more difficult than the course of a male forging the Will of God.
Thank you, Andrew. I have been aware of the Heavenly Mother aspect of the True Parent for many years. My awareness and relationship with the Mother aspect of God was changed when True Mother publicly encouraged us to address the Heavenly Parent keeping in mind the feminine characteristic as well as the male (that we have all related to from our Christian heritage). I was made aware of this through my life experience at East Garden for years. I am looking forward with great anticipation to be able to read a translation of the Original Divine Principle (I’m not sure what his original manuscript was entitled). I believe this first edition is the original breakthrough that identified evil clearly and created the original roadmap for us to liberate from our satanic lineage.
As the original Hebrew texts contain words that I believe have been lost in translation yet are very principled and close to an original idea of Heaven, likewise True Father’s original text is what I would personally focus my spiritual life on. And, yes, I was aware that True Father actually addressed the “Heavenly Mother” character of God in this manuscript. The naysayers aren’t even in the ballpark with their arguments about True Mother. Thanks to you, Andrew, and to this UTS blog which is really on target in regards to the writings on these sorts of topics related to the Providence directly. If there are any other insights on Korea, I actually can’t wait to read those. Please keep it up! This is one of the fruits of True Father’s original investment of his time, money, spirit, and heart, especially from the mid-1970’s onward.
Genesis 1:27: “So God created human beings in His/Her own image; in the image of God He/She created them; male and female.” That’s how the Bible will be recorded in the future and the rest of the holy books of all religions will follow as well. Thank you, sister Jeanne. You are another hero of this huge nation called the USA. HP, TP are proud of you.
Jeanne,
Your story is very touching and I thank True Parents that they rescued a person like you when you must have felt unimaginably horrified after undergoing such an uncompromising quest like Moses did. You are a True American!
Andrew,
Your finding is incredibly valuable and confirms today’s providence, connecting it with True Father’s early writings. Can we access the ODP as well?
When we read the biblical stories of people like Rebekah and Tamar and even Ruth and Naomi, we can recognize that the “mother” voice of God’s identity was present in their lives; however, they were forced to respond within a patriarchal context. The tragedies occurred when Sarah/Hagar and Mary/Elizabeth were more fixated on the competitive Abel/Cain male voices and did not recognize the nurturing nature of the Mother’s voice.
The social (and ontological) paradigm is shifting to the point where we can start to recognize and accept that the established differences between male and female should not be competitive in essence. The “feminine” inclinations are at least as valuable as the masculine. My own mother was a “feminist” in that way, so she rejected the tenets of the mainstream feminist movement. Her point was that she did not want to “lower” herself to the level of a man. Unfortunately, back in those days acknowledgment of her recognition did not extend beyond her own personal life, and even then it was corrupted by mainstream influences.
Too often we find women thinking they first have to qualify as “equals” in a man’s world by becoming masculine before they can be regarded as being a “valuable” person. The paradigm shift away from that perspective is an ingredient of the apocalypse.
Dear sister Jeanne Carroll. Thank you so much for sharing your story! Very powerful in deed. I was raised as a Muslim and I tell you for sure, you have liberated Muslim woman. Many Muslims claim prophet Mohammed liberated women, absolutely not! Women in the Muslim world still slave to men covered up by family “honor.” It is truly painful and sad what God went through to reveal truth to mankind. So often he had to deny Himself. And He surely denied His famine aspect for milliimiums until the Lord of the Second Advent, True Father Sun Myung Moon and the establishment of the True Parents of Heaven and earth. Before the Unification Movement, God is known as a male/ father God. But now in the Unification Movement, God is known as the “Parent God”. Thus, God is not only our Father God, but His is also our Mother God..Thank you for the ordeal and suffering you went through on behalf of humanity. God bless you akways. Amen!