As Mother’s Day approaches, people are preparing to shower all Mothers with love. There will be cards, flowers, and gifts. The pampering will in full bloom with breakfast in bed and manicures and pedicures galore. The restaurants will be overflowing with families gathering to treat Mom to her favorite delicacies.
I count myself blessed as I plan to join in the celebration with special time with my Mom. I will head back to Saginaw, MI, my hometown, to attend Sunday morning worship with her. I get a kick out of how high she holds her head as I walk in beside her. We share something very special as Mom and Daughter.
The reality is every head will not be held so high this Mother’s Day. In fact, some heads will be held quite low as they struggle through this coming weekend. While each of us began life with a Mother, our experiences are unique. Some have not had the loving relationship I’ve enjoyed with a biological Mom. Some have found that love with an adoptive Mom, Aunt, or Grandparent and others have not had that love at all.
Some will find this Mother’s Day challenging as their Mothers have passed away. Acknowledging this special day only magnifies their absence. Without Mom many see no reason to celebrate the occasion at all. With aching hearts, they suffer quietly and reject affections offered by their own children and families.
When your life is touched by infertility, Mother’s Day can be a reminder that your family is void of the children you desire. Maybe you have yet to see a big fat positive on the pregnancy test or maybe your story includes a miscarriage. Mother’s Day can be very difficult when you’ve lost a child or your heart aches as you suffer with secondary infertility.
These scenarios are challenging and they test our spiritual and emotional strength. It is this strength that I encourage you celebrate this Mother’s Day! Even if you heart aches on May 13th, you can still acknowledge something good about your journey. Acknowledge that someone loved you enough to bring you into the world. Celebrate that they loved you enough to secure a more stable home for you than they could provide. Honor the life your Mother lived and the lessons she taught you. Remember her smile and the joy she brought you. Be thankful for the powerful desire that burns so passionately within you that it won’t be denied. It is the same desire that gathers pennies for treatments, endures them month after month, and holds onto hope.
And with all of this celebration, shed a tear or two or twenty; that’s all a part of it. My recommendation is not to ignore your heavy heart. It is rather to acknowledge that your heart is also full and strong. Gather the family together and share a special meal to honor your Mother. Gather with friends to honor all of great women you’ve collectively known who have passed on. Pull out the photo albums and tell her favorite stories. Make a toast to your own strength with others who love you. Today is still your day. Put on your Sunday best, strut into Morning Worship or your favorite restaurant, and say “Thank You” when someone says “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Our challenges present all kinds of choices and many of us become warriors in the process. I say Sunday, May 13, 2018 is not just Mother’s Day. It’s ‘I just can’t give up now, Superwoman, Warrior Day’ and it deserves to be celebrated!
Hope-Filled Thought: I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. Philippians 3:14 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Prayer: Thank You Lord that I am a part of a legacy of love that begins with you. Help me to draw from your strength as I celebrate this Mother’s Day. Make your presence known as we gather together and give us your peace. I receive it and it is so. Amen.
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