Sunday, May 10, 2015

Yes, I'm a Mom but...


Somehow today I am supposed to be elevated to almost a godlike status somehow? I am supposed to feel my worth in how well I am treated by my children?

I have often wondered about this. You see, I have three children. Two of them are
still in contact with me but one has sadly left the fold. So days like this one, Mother’s Day, can be difficult for me. It is hard for me not to think of the “what if’s” and “if only’s.”

We mothers are not gods. We have feet of clay, I have learned. I mothered much the way I was mothered, warts and all. Not to say that my Mom is not a great Mom. Guess what? My Mom mothered the way she was mothered, and her mother mothered the way she was mothered.
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, you know.

So what’s the point of making a big deal of Mother’s Day? Well, we take a day to honor and remember the things she did for us, which should not be limited to just one day a year. We are admonished to honor our parents in the Word of God everyday so that our lives would go well with us. There reaches a point in human maturity when one stops blaming their parents for all of their problems and takes on responsibility for their own life. Yes, we all have been handed a raw deal. It is called the fall of man and it started when Eve took the fruit from the serpent. Ever since then, there has been no perfect mother, and no perfect family. Our excuses might sound good before men, but they won’t stand before God. We each will stand alone.

So, on Mother’s Day, I did get very kind thanks from two of my children and I am quite grateful for that. But could I be happy if not even one of them acknowledged me? That one is a tough one to think about, but if I let my mind think with the Word of God, I could say “yes,” I could still be happy.

You see, my happiness should not depend on the kind of card I get, the gifts I get, the adulation from others. It all boils down to this: ONE Person came down from His heavenly abode and all His glory and took on the likeness of human flesh to become one of us, made from dust and dirt. HE loved me enough to hang on the cross for me until all my sins, and everyone else’s too, were paid for. It comes down to these words describing Christ from the book of Galatians chapter 2, verse 20:
“who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (emphasis added)

Surely that is better than a card or gift on Mother’s Day, is it not? Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for what I have, but the greatest gift of all that remains is LOVE. His Love, demonstrated by giving Himself for us unconditionally on Calvary’s Cross. It was more of a sacrifice than any mother ever made for her child, it was more than any love one person showed for another, indeed, it was a love that was not from this world.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. I John 3:1 NASB

If a believing mother would happen to read this on Mother’s Day and for some reason is heartbroken for one reason or another, you still can rejoice, no matter what, for you have received the greatest gift of all: the love of God in Christ Jesus!

3 comments:

  1. I guess expect nothing and bless your mother on this day and all days. Kids grow up and make mission statements of their own. Such as: "When I have a family ...I will be like this ..or do it this way" By grace we loved and did what we could. We weren't having cocktails, smoking and getting babysitters constantly. We pretty much gave it our all to the best of our understanding and ability. Only God will know and truly appreciate our devotion to the children we were entrusted. I may have been to soft on them, though, it is our natural instinct. You were a good and faithful servant in your role, Megan!

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  2. Good word, Astrid. Love what you said: "By grace we loved and did what we could." Thank you so much for writing.

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  3. Good word, Astrid. Love what you said: "By grace we loved and did what we could." Thank you so much for writing.

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