Mother's Day From Many Angles

Tomorrow, mothers everywhere will be honored; from sun up to sun down. Then all the rush will be over, the rush for that last minute Mother’s Day card, the gift, food to be cooked and all those texts and emails that will be sent out all day with Happy Mother’s Day greetings.

I’ve thought a lot about Mother’s Day the past couple of days. My daughter waits anxiously for her firstborn (and me too!!!). She could quite possibly become a new mom by the end of the day tomorrow. Or we wait another week. I went to visit my own mom today who lives in a nursing home. I think about her a lot, remembering my younger years and how well she took care of me and my brothers. The relief of knowing she’s taken care of everyday is shadowed with sadness that her younger years are behind us. 

I think of all those who long to be moms and aren’t, and those who don’t want to be moms, yet are. I think of all those children (young and grown) who lost their moms prematurely or moms who lost a child, and celebrating Mother’s Day is only a painful reminder. I hope and pray the sting of that loss will be lessened tomorrow.

I know there are moms who are celebrated by their husbands, leading their children by example in honoring their wives on Mother’s Day and it’s a joyful day. I also know there are moms whose husbands don’t model that quite so well and mothers might be left feeling a little unappreciated. There is a God who understands and you can turn to Him to fill that and any other disappointment there may be.

You might be that adult child searching the rows of Mother’s Day cards trying to find the perfect card to express how deeply grateful you are for your mom. But then you might be the adult child who searches through all the cards to find one not so genuine, less mushy and loving because that just isn’t how your mother-child relationship is. I know that God can and will fill that void of frustration and hurt. 

The one I think of the most though, is the single mom. Celebrating Mother’s Day as a single mom can be one of the most endearing, humbling, bittersweet, melancholic, joyful, sad, exhausting, fearful, happy, thankful, regretful, hopeful day for you. I believe you have the hardest job ever! Even if you are blessed with strong family support, when you turn the light out at night, it’s just you and your child(ren). Know that the Lord is as near as your next breath and all you have to do is say His name.

For ALL of us moms, from whatever angle you're viewing Mother's Day from, whether good, bad, sad or happy; my deepest hope and prayer is that tomorrow, Sunday, May 11, 2014, will be a day full of contentment, peace, hope and joy. Let's all look upward in confident trust that the God who made us moms, and the God who gave us a mom, is greater than each and every circumstance. Here's to you all: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Terri