I have such mixed feelings about this day.
I love my mom. Thank
you for her.
Thank you for her love and dedication.
Thank you that she always believes in me and thinks I’m
great.
Thank you for her prayers and that she taught me about you.
Thank you for her gift of teaching and all I’ve learned from
her—how to read, how to bake, how to play softball, how to serve, and how to
love.
And I'm thankful for my many friends that are moms.
Being a mom is a hard calling. Make your presence known to them when they
are awake at 3am feeding an infant or cleaning up vomit.
Give them wisdom as they begin to instill values and habits
in their young hearts.
Help them to teach their precious ones about you and model a
life of faith. May all of these little
ones grow up to love and follow you.
But there is also sadness in my heart on this day.
I wish that I was a mother, too.
I know that it is a hard calling, and I wish that it was
mine, too.
My heart is full of wonderings…
Where do I fit when it seems that motherhood = womanhood?
Will there be a day when motherhood is my calling?
How long might I have to wait?
How do I keep my baptismal promises to the children in my
community?
And there is sadness in my heart that the church hurts women
today.
Instead of a place that pours salt into already open wounds,
may we be a place of honesty and love.
May we be a place where it is okay to shed tears for the
children you wish you had,
or the children that lived only in your womb,
or the child that has wandered away from then family,
or your own desire for an good relationship with your
mom.
Today in particular, may we be a place of lament, as well as
praise.
May we be a safe and loving community and not an exclusive
and hurtful one.
So God, take my thanksgiving and questions, joy and
sadness.
Help me to live with it all.
Comfort me on the dark days.
Comfort others for whom this is an excruciating day.
Help me to know that you haven’t forgotten me, like a mother who doesn’t forget the baby at her breast (Is 49:15).
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Personal Photo, May 2013.
