This coming Sunday, more than 43.5 million women will be celebrating Mother’s Day, a day set aside to honor those women in our lives who have sacrificed so much for all of us.
For many, it is a time to celebrate with their moms and show appreciation with special acts of kindness and reflections. For others, it is a time to thank that “special mom” in their lives who raised them. My wife Sherry and her brother and sister, like so many others, were raised by her grandmother who I had the privilege of knowing and loving for so many years. She was truly an amazing woman who was the matriarch of the family.
Pastor Frank's Mom
For some of us, it is a time to remember our Mothers who are no longer with us and thank God for the powerful influence that they had in our lives. In my case, I will always remember my mom encouraging and cheering me on. When others were quick to give up on me, my mother in her own quiet way never equivocated, never wavered, always believing that I could be all that God wanted me to be.
As a dad, I am thankful for the mother of my children who always considered that to be her most important role in life and has done it so well with love and caring.
Sherry and the kids.
But as we celebrate this special day, I would remind us that the calling of motherhood transcends heritages. I am remind of Jesus’s words in Matthew 12, “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, ‘Your mother and bothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to them, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to His disciples, He said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister and mother.’”
What I believe that teachers us is that we should all be parents to those around us. So as we celebrate Mother Day, let us not forget those special women who feed into the lives of our young people .. and all of us. An ancient African proverb reminds us that “it takes a village to raise a child.” That village has never been more necessary than it is today with all the challenges and vicissitudes that our children encounter.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, let us honor all the women in our lives – past, present and future – and thank God for all that they have done and continue to do for all of us. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY … you are a special gift from God.
And the results are in…
Two weeks ago, I shared a project that I was doing as part of a course for Wesley Seminary. You may remember, I asked the question, “who does your heart break for?” The four major responses were:
1. Addictions, particularly the opioid and drug crisis as-well-as alcoholic dependencies.
2. Those that do not know or do not actively participate in a faith based experience.
3. The youth and teens of our communities – inactivity may exacerbate the opioid and drug issues and other problems.
4. Economically -- the lower to middle individuals/families who are struggling with the high tax burden and the astronomical cost of living in exchange for the quality of life experiences and excellent educational opportunities in our communities.
The real question is what have we learned from this exercise and what do we need to do to make sure it doesn’t just become another exercise in futility? My prayer is that in the coming months, we’ll have serious discussions and reflections as we seek solutions to these issues. Please continue to pray for those issues that break your heart and seek answers as God leads.
See you this Sunday at St. Matts at 8:45.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Frank