Happy Mother's Day!

Today is a day to celebrate mothers.  While not everyone gets to enjoy healthy relationships in families, we all came into the world through women.  Moms who were not perfect but did give us one priceless treasure:  life.  

​I don’t know your story, whether you had a wonderful, active mom in your life or grew up in a broken home with a dysfunctional family and a mom who wasn’t quite all she was meant to be.  Whatever your past or present relationship with your mom is, there is one thing we can all celebrate and be grateful for: the fact that our moms chose to give us life.
 
This is a gift that I do not take lightly.  God has blessed me with three different mothers throughout my life.  A birth mother who loved me by carrying me in her womb and giving me life.  A foster mother whose love nurtured and cared for me during my earliest years, giving me a solid start to life and healthy attachments during my formative first couple of years.  And then an adoptive mom whose love has breathed life and vibrancy and given me a place to flourish for the past twenty-three years.  I am grateful for these women and moms God has brought into my life.
 
Moms are not necessarily only the person who birthed you into this world.  While that is one definition of motherhood, it’s not exclusive.  Motherhood is about giving life—physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational life.  While God intended this role to be held by one woman, sin has shattered God’s perfect model and not all women can be the moms their children need.  Sometimes, different women fill this role at different times.  So while you have one mom in the strict biological sense, you may have many mothers in the fact that different women have poured and invested life into you, helping you grow, develop, and flourish into the person you are today. 
 
Therefore, take some time today to pause and reflect on the women who have filled the role of mother in your life.  Take some time to treasure, remember, value, and celebrate them.  Even if your relationship with your biological mother isn’t the best, still take some time to either personally honor her today or thank God for her, because I can guarantee that you would not be here without her decision to give you life.  In this era and culture, life is a gift that should never be taken for granted.
 
On a different note, I know that Mother’s Day can be a painful day for women who would love to nurture and breathe life into a young soul but have not been given the gift of children.  To the women out there struggling with this fact today, please remember that the definition of motherhood is not confined to biological bonds.  You can give life and love to many, mothering them through life’s challenges and helping them to grow and flourish.  So don’t shelf your mother abilities and desire to foster life and growth just because you don’t have your own children; instead, know that you can be a mother to many depending on how you live and invest your life. 
 
Finally, to the young woman who is not yet a mom and/or has not given motherhood much thought, as you reflect and celebrate the women God has brought into your life to help shape and mold you into the beautiful person you are today, take some time to also ponder and pray about what type of mother you will become and be intentional about becoming that woman who selflessly gives of herself to instill and cultivate life in others.  We don’t have to wait to raise children to start pouring our lives out to give life to others.  We can start doing that now.  So what type of mother do you want to be?
 
Mothers give life physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  So on this Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the women who have and are actively giving life to us and to the next generation.  And let us remember the wise and accurate adage that "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."  Therefore, let us never forget or lose sight of the great influence women possess, not only on their own children, but on the future of the world.  May we always remember that the mundane and often thankless role moms hold in life can and does change the world.  So may we seek to use that influence and opportunity to build God’s kingdom and bring spiritual life into the next generation.
 
Happy Mother’s Day!