To the Moms Who Are
To the Moms who are struggling, to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Moms no longer with us.
To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.
Today is a day to honor the unyielding love and care for others we call 'Motherhood,' wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.-
To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Moms no longer with us.
To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.
Today is a day to honor the unyielding love and care for others we call 'Motherhood,' wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.-
Hannah Kardon, Pastor at Elston Avenue United Methodist Church
I find this prayer so beautifully inclusive. Oh how we love the moms who have raised us, but we are also grateful to all of the "mothers" that have touched our lives, and who have creatively borne love into the world.
It's wonderful that one of our "Mary Months" is May and we celebrate Mother's Day during this time. I think of Mary and how she truly honored life from "womb" to "tomb," a staple belief of our Catholic faith. She experienced the profound joy and gut wrenching sadness of what it means to "mother" someone through every moment of life. I think of her holding Jesus, God incarnate, as an infant, and singing the psalms to him, and holding his hand as he learned to walk, and teaching him prayers, and keeping him safe, and modeling what love looks like. And I think of her "losing" him in the temple, and watching him leave home to do "the Father's will," and walking beside him to his execution, and holding him one last time when they removed him from the cross.
There isn't one experience that we have that Mary can't relate to on this life journey. When you struggle, she understands. It's comforting to know that we can go to our heavenly mother, to be wrapped and held in a blanket of prayer.
A Song from Mother to Child:
I imagine Mary saying these lyrics to us:
"May you never lose the wonder in your soul...
May the living light inside you be the compass as you go..."
May the living light inside you be the compass as you go..."
knowing full well that the the living light inside of us is JESUS!
A Song from Child to Mother:
This painting by Liz Lemon Swindle of Jesus holding Mary does something melty to my heart... Jesus seems to be praying for her and Mary is smiling. All the love she gave is now being poured out on her.
I imagine Jesus saying these lyrics with a twist to Mary:
"I know my kids will be better BECAUSE they have a mother like you..."
MOTHER'S DAY TO DO:
Think about all of the women in your life who have encouraged you, helped you along your faith journey, who have kept you safe, and have named the beautiful things happening in your life: godmothers, teachers, neighbors, aunts, mentors... Maybe reach out to them through a call, text, or handwritten note and let them know that they have made a difference in your life. If you are remembering a "mother" who has passed to the next life, share a story about why she was so important to who you have become.
If you are pinched for time, maybe light a candle and say the names of all of the beautiful women in your life out loud and thank God for them.
And if you have three minutes to have your heart touched and your spirits lifted check out this video:
I hope that you know that you are each worth waaaaay more than $100 to me! You are simply priceless!
Happy Mother's Day!
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of us all, please pray for us,
lyn