Mother’s Day is the second highest day in church attendance, right behind Easter. There’s gonna be a lot of people in the Church this Sunday that don’t normally show up, and I have just one request. Please don’t forget to honor my moms, too.
The ads, the sermons, the stores only seem to acknowledge one kind of woman this Sunday, the biological woman who gave birth to you, who still loves you, cares about you, and is present in your life. But what if you don’t have one of those? What if your mom told you she hated you? What if she preferred to have an affair and run away with her fourth husband? What about the dozens of women who chose to love me when my mom wouldn’t? What if your mom is no longer here? ...What about them?
Don’t forget about the mother who carried a child for what seemed like a moment before they were gone - lost in a miscarriage. While every other mother receives her recognition, the pain of her loss will be as heavy as the day she lost her baby. Don’t forget about the woman who longs to carry a child of her own, but cannot. Month after month, her hopes come crashing down, and this day will remind her of how her own body is betraying her and keeping her from her dream. ...Don’t forget them.
There’s going to be a huge percentage of women this Sunday, sitting in church services who haven’t been validated or acknowledged by culture as a mother, but have been a mother to many. If God can use a virgin teenager to give birth to His son, can’t a non-biological woman still be a mother to someone who isn’t her their biological child?
Here’s some women in my personal life who get overlooked, but choose to love me like a mother anyway. It would be awesome to honor them this Sunday, too.
- Foster mothers who let me live in their home.
- Social Workers who challenged me to not let my past predict my future.
- Teachers who put in a LOT of extra time to make sure I didn’t get left behind.
- Nurses who sat with me after my suicide attempt.
- Sunday School Teachers who didn’t treat me like I was a freak.
- Friends parents who let me live with them when I had no where to go.
A lot of people love their moms, and that’s incredible! That’s the dream! I definitely believe moms should seriously be honored. All I’m asking is that we don’t forget the vast majority of women who also love kids and take on the role of mother when they could have just kept living their own lives. Please don’t forget them when you go to honor ALL women who love and make a difference in a child’s life.
