Holy Longing: “I Want My Mommy!”

Louisa Ikena connects an encounter with Christ in the form of a teary-eyed boy at work to the longing all of us have inside for God. 

“I want my mommy!” was the cry of a first-grade student on morning as tears streamed down his face. I usually interact with 12- to 14-year-olds, so this specific encounter was a first for me. It was before the first bell at morning assembly in our school’s gymnasium. I glanced around at a colleague who works with younger students, then realized that this child had specifically approached me.  

I dropped to one knee, noticing how similar that motion was to genuflecting at church, said a quick prayer to invite God in, and engaged the student in gentle conversation.  

Encountering Christ in a Child 

The details of what was said in that conversation are not as important as the feeling I experienced. Mother Teresa would talk about experiencing Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor. I was experiencing Christ in this 7-year-old who reminded me vividly of my own inner child at age seven. When I spoke with this boy in front of me, I felt like I was speaking to little Louisa at age seven. I was acknowledging the feelings expressed, not ignoring or shaming his tears. I was reassuring him that it was going to be all right in the face of fears, and that he was safe. And I was confidently stating, “You can do hard things.”  

I reminded myself of the many things in my life God helped me to do hard things, and I smiled remembering how God has accompanied me on this journey of faith. 

Acknowledging feelings is a huge part of my process. There are a million ways for me to numb out my feelings, ranging from the benign to the not-so-benign. The hard part of the process is being really real. The phrase really real means not just being real, but going a layer deeper to be really real. Being really real involves a level of rigorous honesty that is healing and also hard.

But that fact also reinforces the statement that is an affirmation for me — I can do hard things. God is in the easy tasks, the hard tasks, and everything in between. The struggle of life is real, and God is very much in the midst of the struggle. 

How many times has my own heart cried out, “I want my mommy?” I want love. I want nurturance. I want connection. I have heard that this opposite of healthy connection is isolation. We are not meant to do this thing called life on our own.  

We Are One Body in Christ 

The boy who wanted his mommy that day needed to be seen and needed to be heard. What would the world be like if we could truly see each other as God sees us, and what if we could hear each other as God hears us? 

All of us, on a really fundamental level, long for home. This is a holy longing. Connecting this longing to our spirituality, we are truly longing for God. When I am connected to God, I am safe. I am known. And I am loved. 

Lord, please increase my holy longing for You, just for today. 

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Copyright 2026 Louisa Ann Irene Ikena
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