From the Pastor...
As Mother’s Day approaches, the media is praising moms – but only some moms. Hallmark card moms. My prayer for you this week is that you remember that our Father-Mother, the parent of us all, loves and holds all of us – and cherishes so many more kinds of motherhood.
I want you to know that God sees you…
… if you are like Rachel, counting the women among your family and friends who year by year, and month by month, get pregnant, while you wait.
… if you are like Naomi and Bathsheba, remembering the ache of a child's death.
… if you are like Hagar, mothering alone.
… if you are like Tamar, pursuing every avenue to get pregnant.
… if you are like Joseph and Benjamin, mourning your mother.
… if you are like Puah and Shiprah, ensuring the safety of others’ children at all costs.
… if you are like Jochebed, Moses' mother, trusting another family to love and raise your child into adulthood.
… if you are like Pharaoh's daughter, called to love children who are not yours by birth.
... if you are like Mary, caught between fear and anticipation as you await the birth of your child.
… if you are like so many mothers in the Bible, watching your child battle substance abuse, a public legal situation, mental illness, or another situation which you can merely watch unfold.
God sees you…
…if your children have turned away from you, painfully closing the door on relationship, leaving you holding your broken heart in your hands.
…if you are watching (or have watched) your mother disappear into the long goodbye of dementia.
…if your relationship with your Mom was marked by trauma, abuse, or abandonment, or if she just couldn't parent you the way you needed.
…if motherhood is your greatest joy and toughest struggle all rolled into one.
…if you, like so many women before you, do not wish to be a mother, are not married, or in so many other ways do not fit into societal norms.
…if you see yourself reflected in all, or none of these stories.
This Mother's Day, wherever and whoever you are, we walk with you. You are loved. You are seen. You are worthy. And may you know the deep, unending love of our big, wild, beautiful God who is the very best example of a parent that we know.
Amen.
- A prayer for Mother's Day, originally written by Amy Young, adapted by Heidi Carrington Heath, and then again by Pastor Alexis
