Happy Mother’s Day
10/05/09 10:20
Today we celebrate and
honor our mothers. But I have always questioned this
practice. Should we honor all mothers? What if a
woman didn’t want to be a mother and has always
resented the fact of being one? Would we be rubbing
salt in the wound by calling attention to her
motherhood? Over the last few years I have seen many
a woman in the news, that I can definitely say,
“She really didn’t want to be a
mother.” But I do not want to go into the
morbid and macabre on a day that I want to thank all
mothers who have taken their calling with seriousness
and delight. I am amazed at the juggling abilities,
not only of those in the cleaning of the house,
taxing, being nurse and counselor, but also of the
emotions that they juggle within themselves. My
mother was the perfect example of loving you through
her toughness. She could slap you into next week and
meet you there with a big hug, unless of course you
were like me, and deserved another slap. My mother
taught me there was a God at a very early age, I
prayed to Him often when she was exacting her
judgment. If one thing was for certain (and
determined by her) Jimmy wasn’t growing up to
be a criminal.
Helen Rowland once said, “It takes a woman twenty years to make a man of her son, and another woman twenty minutes to make a fool of him” Mothers want the best for their children but sometimes don’t always get what they strive for. A mother ought not to blame herself because her child grows up deciding not to listen to her instruction. She should never calibrate her motherhood by another’s free-will. So, what makes a good mother? She is that woman who has determined the best for her children and works to that end with no thought of self. She rises early, she stays up late and she sets about her work vigorously, she never eats the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed. And so, every mother who determines this and works to that end is a mother that we honor today. Thank you Moms, everywhere! You know, Paul said that he was in the pains of childbirth until Christ be formed in the Church of the Galatians. In a sense, he was relating to the very struggle that mothers live everyday. She goes into labor and delivers her child and yet, she continues to labor as her child grows to maturity. Oh, what am I saying; Florida Scott-Maxwell said it best, “No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.” So mothers, we salute you for all your selfless efforts, your sleepless nights filled with prayers and tears, the giving and forgiving and every little thing that went “unseen.” We love you, we truly do!
Helen Rowland once said, “It takes a woman twenty years to make a man of her son, and another woman twenty minutes to make a fool of him” Mothers want the best for their children but sometimes don’t always get what they strive for. A mother ought not to blame herself because her child grows up deciding not to listen to her instruction. She should never calibrate her motherhood by another’s free-will. So, what makes a good mother? She is that woman who has determined the best for her children and works to that end with no thought of self. She rises early, she stays up late and she sets about her work vigorously, she never eats the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed. And so, every mother who determines this and works to that end is a mother that we honor today. Thank you Moms, everywhere! You know, Paul said that he was in the pains of childbirth until Christ be formed in the Church of the Galatians. In a sense, he was relating to the very struggle that mothers live everyday. She goes into labor and delivers her child and yet, she continues to labor as her child grows to maturity. Oh, what am I saying; Florida Scott-Maxwell said it best, “No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.” So mothers, we salute you for all your selfless efforts, your sleepless nights filled with prayers and tears, the giving and forgiving and every little thing that went “unseen.” We love you, we truly do!
Have a great week!
Pastor Jim
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