By: Clever Cupcakes

It’s time for Mother’s Day once more.

“Yay!  Moms are the best!”  That’s supposed to be our reaction to Mother’s Day.

And if you’re a Mom then your reaction is supposed to be something like this: “Being a mother is the most amazing blessing that can ever be imagined!  I’m so jazzed about being a mom!”

Unfortunately, these are not the only reactions that people have on Mother’s Day.  For a lot of people, Mother’s Day is difficult.

So when we observe Mother’s Day this year, and every year going forward, let’s keep in mind the real potential for pain in some people’s lives.

Mother’s Day Pain

Here are a few examples of people who may be suffering on Mother’s Day…

• People whose moms have died, whether recently or a long time ago.
• Women who are unable to have children.
• Women who don’t have children but wish they did.
• Single moms who are reminded on Mother’s Day of the loneliness of their situation.
• Moms whose children have died, whether recently or a long time ago.
• Women who have spent tons of money on infertility treatments that haven’t worked.
• Women who are in the process of adoption.
• Women who have had failed adoptions.
• Adoptive moms who may have a hard time believing that they’re really moms.
• Women who have placed children for adoption and all the pain and heartache that accompanies this courageous choice.
• Foster children, adoptive children, children raised without a mother, and other children who have issues identifying who their moms are.
• Moms whose children live a long way away.
• Women who long to have grandchildren but do not yet.
• The mothers whose relationships with their children are broken.
• Women who are pregnant; they may wonder if they count yet.
• Women who have terminated pregnancies.
• Foster moms whose lives are often chaotic and their efforts unheralded.
• Single women who deeply long to have a family.
• Women who serve as the mother for children in their community whose biological mothers are unavailable for one reason or another.
• Mothers who are incarcerated and separated from their children.
• Children whose mothers are incarcerated.
• Children who suffer or who have suffered at the hands of their mothers.
• Mothers who hurt or have hurt their children.
• New moms who are frazzled, sleepy, and doubtful about their capabilities as parents.
• Women who have suffered miscarriages.
• Children of moms who are terminally ill.
• Moms of children who are terminally ill.
• Women in the midst of a crisis pregnancy.
• Women who have been sexually abused.
• Step-moms who are seeking to navigate the complicated waters of a blended family.
• Moms whose jobs take them a long way from home, whether because of the military, business, or anything else.
• Children whose moms are not at home due to their service in the military, their jobs, or anything else.
• Moms whose partners are a long way from home, whether because of the military, business, or anything else.
• Moms of children with special needs who are overwhelmed and tired and who often blame themselves for the diagnoses of their children.
• Working moms who have to cope with daily pain and doubt.
• Stay at home moms who may feel like they aren’t making a contribution.
• Moms everywhere who suffer under the judgment of our society, the men in their lives, their families, other mothers, and themselves.
• All the other mothers that I left unnamed.
• And all the men who are attached to any of the women above.

And, friends, I know lots and lots of women who fit the categories above and have sat with, prayed with, and cried with them.

Now What?

So should the pain that many have on Mother’s Day change the way we talk about it and celebrate it?  Absolutely!  Especially as followers of Jesus and especially during our worship services on Mother’s Day.

But, if you are in contact with your mom, your grandmother, or the mother of your children, you should absolutely reach out to them on Mother’s Day.  If there’s drama between you, that’s fine; reach out any way.  As followers of Jesus we are called to reconciliation, which is often really difficult!

But for many of us who have neutral, good, or amazing relationships with our moms, we should tell our moms how much we love them and how thankful we are for them.  It’s really pretty simple — express love and gratitude!

But in our churches we should probably do things a bit differently than we typically do.  Convention says that from the stage or pulpit we should have a spiel about Mother’s Day and how “being a mom is the highest calling.”  Then we ask all of the moms in the audience to stand and we applaud them.

I think that all of that is wrong and we shouldn’t do it.

Why?  What’s wrong with acknowledging moms and their hard work and sacrifice?

Several things:

1. Being a mom, or a parent for that matter, isn’t the highest calling.  Following Jesus and obeying all that he commanded us is the highest calling.  Think about it: if being a mom, or a parent generally, was the highest calling, then lots of folks around the world who do not know or follow God are living out that highest calling.  That just doesn’t make sense.  Besides, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 7.7, said that he wished people would stay single as he was.  And Jesus was single and many of the leaders of the early church were single.  Being married and having children is a blessing from God — but it’s certainly not the best of all blessings, the way that many people in the church make it out to be!  By the way and for the official record, I’m happily married and I’m a father.  I’m not writing this out of frustration over being single or not being a parent.  And I’m not writing this because I don’t like being married or being a father.
2. Having all the moms stand is horribly painful for all the women present who might fit one of the pain categories listed above.  It’s so bad that many women simply stay home from church on Mother’s Day to avoid the pain, shame, and guilt of not standing and being applauded.  Furthermore, we aren’t at church to celebrate moms anyway; we’re there to celebrate what God is doing in our lives and to worship him.  Can moms be mentioned in our services.  Sure!  But we need to find ways to do it that won’t marginalize and hurt all the women for whom Mother’s Day is painful.
3. And, lastly, Mother’s Day is not a Christian holiday.  It was started by a woman who wanted to honor her own mother.  She fought for years to get Congress to make Mother’s Day an official holiday and it finally worked!  But shortly thereafter Mother’s Day shifted from being a simple day to tell our own mothers we love and appreciate them to becoming a commercialistic behemoth.  It got so bad, so fast, that the founder of Mother’s Day begged Congress to repeal it!  And things haven’t gotten better.  I mean, have you been to the store this week?  So from it’s beginning to the way it is observed today, Mother’s Day is not a Christian holiday and it seems to promote frivolous spending on trinkets that will simply gather dust.

So What Then?

What can we do instead?  If we talk about Mother’s Day in our churches, can we do so from the perspective of Scripture?  Can we do so in ways that bring honor to moms and that don’t cause undue pain?

And can we pray in ways that affirm all women and not just moms?

Here’s an example prayer.  Do with it what you will.

Father,

Thank you for caring for us, for leading us, and for calling us to be your disciples.  We each have a story that has brought us to today.  Some of our stories are idyllic and beautiful, full of loving homes, caring mothers, and wonderful children.  But others of us have different stories, stories full of pain, suffering, isolation, frustration, shame, guilt, and unfulfilled hopes.  And in light of the stark differences that a day like Mother’s Day brings up for us, we are in awe of the fact that you can create beauty, unity, and peace in spite of how different we all are.  But we are grateful Father that you have led us to where we are today.  We deeply appreciate that you’ve been with us each step of the way.  And for those of us who celebrate today, you celebrate along side us!  And for those of us who suffer today, we share in the fellowship of your suffering.  Father, help us grow from our stories.  Teach us and move us to be excellent caregivers, showing love by putting the interests of others before our own.  Today, on Mother’s Day, we celebrate you and your power to reconcile all things to yourself through Christ Jesus our Lord.  It’s in his name we pray; Amen.

What do you think?  How can we responsibly observe Mother’s Day as followers of Jesus?