Honor and Reverence

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and stepmothers, or anyone who loves and cares for any child. This sounds like such a weak statement considering some of the remarks and posts I have read recently about motherhood.

This weekend, I wrote a response to all those hurtful comments but decided not to post it because I sounded like a porcupine in attack mode. In my defense, I know what it takes to be a mother and a stepmother, and it is not an easy job. I get defensive when someone tries to minimize or degrade it in any way, large or small.

This morning, I will not focus on that negativity. Instead, I want to honor and show reverence to all moms. Before I go on, let’s look at the definition of those terms.

v  Honor may apply to the recognition of one's right to great respect or to any expression of such recognition.

v  Reverence implies profound respect mingled with love, devotion, or awe.

 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honor#dictionary-entry-2

First, to every mom, thank you for choosing to honor God by choosing life. Thank you for the battle you fight with time, resources and other barriers every day to make meals, pack lunches, get kids to school, go to work and/or get your education, taxi kids to their extracurricular activities, make sure they get baths, do their homework, keep them safe, clean the house, go to the grocery store, pay the bills, plan their parties, take them to the zoo, museum, movies, and other places you were never able to go as a child, buy their school clothes, read the Bible with them, take them to church, pray with them, read bedtime stories to them, show them how seeds make flowers, listen to their successes, failures, happy times and hurts, tell them about life, snuggle up and watch their favorite shows even when you have things you have to get done and so much more. I recognize the length of that sentence. It could have been much longer. Feel the pain.

Thank you. You are a hero. Your struggle is meaningful. Your life is noticed by our Creator. He sees every tear and every act of goodness poured into another life.

To new moms, single moms, moms who work more than one job, moms who have no support system, moms with no role model—claim His strength when it gets difficult. I wish I had learned that much sooner. When you make a mistake, hold your head up. You won’t be perfect. None of us are. Every day give it your best with what you know and what you have. When you learn a better way, do it a better way.

In the end, the only thing that matters is love. That is something we all have and can give freely. Thank you. It’s not enough, but it is from my heart. Thank you for your care, time, energy, life, and heart. May God bless you and keep you and those you love in the palm of His hand.